


And then he saw her

by emotionalsinusoide



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-08-17 01:17:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16506485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalsinusoide/pseuds/emotionalsinusoide
Summary: Story placed in AU, where our favourite duo switch professions. Let's see how it works.





	1. The meeting

**A/N**

I don't own Zootopia, bleh bleh bleeeh.

It's my first FanFic published ever, and I haven't been writting anything since... i don't remember. High School maybe?

But I hope you'll like it.

Big thanks to **blueberryandhoney** \- my beta-reader, editor, and if I sum up all her work here- almost co-founder of this story.:) You are the best!!!

 

 

**Chapter 1**

 

The plan was easy.

Find the street seller, check his license, and if he hadn’t any (which was very likely) acquire his stuff, and give him a fine.

 

Other merchants who had their shops in the neighborhood were constantly complaining about the street sellers who were stealing their clients from them, providing lower prices, and who surely weren’t paying any taxes doing so.

 

So his task for today was to find the very new one, who (at least that was what the owner of Jumbeaux Café said when he was calling Chief this morning) set his stall nearby elephant’s place.

 

Now Nick was proceeding to find the culprit as he walked down the street in Savanna Central that Sunday. It was one of the main streets in Zootopia, in the middle of the center, and it was quite crowded.

But, with the skills he acquired straight from the police academy (and the year preceding it), he managed to slalom between the various species of mammals walking on the pavement. In order to find the seller he was looking for, he decided to walk on the left side of the street, as the pavement was wider. Stalls could operate, with enough space between them and the buildings to keep from being over crowded.

 

Suddenly, a sweet laugh caught his attention. It wasn’t a graceful laugh, nor a laugh that may have come from a joke or, worse, from someone else’s misfortune.

It was the sound of pure joy.

 

 _“Wow”_ , Nick thought as his ears twitched to catch every last note of it, “ _that’s rare in a city full of fake mammals caring only about themselves.”_ his mind thought back to the many mammals who had treated him badly through out his life.

 

Shaking his head free of the past, he looked around his present, trying to navigate where the sweet laughter was coming from.

 

And then he saw her.

 

His culprit, apparently.

Gray bunny. A fluffy ball of happiness, laughing next to her stall. Bouncing from one passer-by to the next, giving out... rabbit heads? Little chocolates shaped like that, served on sticks. She declared them to be free samples and invited everyone who accepted one to visit her stall, Honey-Bunny, tomorrow.

 

Wearing a loose, green, pawaiian style shirt, she bounced and smiled, the shirt slipping to expose her shoulders. And he was hard pressed to find a problem with that. Nothing wrong with that type of shirt at all, he decided. The type that showed off more than it covered. And the fact that it ended right below her breasts did nothing to fight against his decision. How could it? No argument stood a chance when her soft, white belly made a strange, yet pleasant, ache grow in his chest. An ache that only doubled when he realized she was sans bra.

 

Being a cop who graduated at the top of his class (and a red blooded male), it wasn’t hard to miss. Being observant was all fine and dandy, but this didn’t need his overly developed skills of observation. She wore no bra, the hem of her shirt fluttered in the most delicious of ways, and Nick caught himself staring.

 

Snapping himself out of his short-lived stupor, Nick composed himself. A brief glance down at his uniform, just to remind himself to stay worthy of it, he unconsciously smoothed the fur on his head as he approached the bunny’s stall. Though, he decided to wait there until she finished her sales pitch to those who stopped by. It gave him another chance to gaze, as her back was to him. He could only deduce, or hope, from her very tight, brown skirt that hugged her round hips, that her panties were lost in the action, too.

 

 _“Gosh damnit, Nick! Get your shit together.”_ He scolded himself, both parts both parts of his brain going to war with each other. “ _Are you a police officer, or_

_another horny guy?”_

“... _Can’t I be both?”_

 

 _“NO!”_ He thought firmly, _“She’s not even a vixen! Nothing about her is like a vixen. Even her behavior is typical for a bunny, bouncing around and... and... things. Look, does any of her antics look even a little sexy?”_

 

His eyes fell to her tight, bouncing rear and knew the answer.

She was one hell of a bunny.

 

Some minutes later, the bunny turned and walked back to her stall, eyes closed from exhaustion. But a pleasant smile was glued to her muzzle. With a sigh, her eyes fluttered open and she noticed the fox for the first time.

 

Purple eyes didn’t show any kind of fear, just a hint of surprise as she wasn’t expecting him to be there. Her smile widened, but was tinged with an apology.

“Hello there!” she greeted, looking at him with sorrow. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any more samples to give out.”

 

It was funny to Nick. She was so upset for such a small thing like this. It made her absolutely cute.

 _“‘Cute’... I heard something about this word”_ , he thought to himself as he stared at her. _“Who doesn’t like it? Cats? Little dogs? I need to refresh my memory. Later... Later, later... She’s got such big, beautiful eyes...”_

 

“Ah...” Nick grunted, trying to jump start his suddenly broken down voice. “Such a shame...”

He found no more words, since he was drowning in her purple orbs.

There was a short silence, edging towards awkward.

 _“Why am I standing here like a speechless creep?”_ he thought to himself as the skin under his fur flushed.

 

But the bunny saved the situation from being even more awkward. Looking towards a cooler behind her stall, her ears perked, and her expression lit up.

“But, you know what?” She winked and hopped over to the cooler and popped open the lid. And there, wrapped in plastic, was a chocolate popsicle. It was a bunny head, like the others, but it was missing an ear.

“This was mine, but I didn’t have time to eat it all.” Still smiling, she turned back to the fox and held it out to him. “So... If it won’t be too gross for you…”

 

Nick was only vaguely aware of how dumb his face looked at that moment, not really recovering from his swim in her eyes. But his paw reached for the sweet the bunny was giving him. He took it from her, very much aware of how big his paw was compared to hers.

“You sure you don’t want to eat this?” he asked.

“Nah, I got enough of these at home.” she assured him.

Bringing it to him mouth, he took a bite, closing his eyes as the flavor hit his tongue. Finding it impossibly tasty, he opened them again, noticing the brief look she was giving his fangs, now covered in chocolate. She smiled when he took another bite.

 

“Hey, it’s almost like we’re kissing” she joked. Nick almost choked on his bite, causing the sweet sound of her laughter filled the air. “Just kidding. A dumb joke from a dumb bunny.” She waved her paw dismissively at that. A wave of irritation washed over Nick, making his attempt at swallowing the bite in his mouth difficult. When managed to succeed, his expression turned serious.

“Don’t call yourself that.” he said with a shake of his head.

 _“And the joke wasn’t all that dumb”_ , he added to himself. His thoughts quickly summoned visions of swapping saliva with the bunny in much more... direct... ways than sharing popsicles. _“That wouldn’t be bad at all…”_

“Yeah, yeah,” she responded with a smile, though it was filled with self depreciation Nick didn’t like at all. “Like that’s not what everybody thinks about bunnies. That, and being good at multiplying.” She laughed sadly at her comment before her gaze became somber.

“Anyway...” her morose demeanor was literally shaken off, her previous cheerfulness returning. Before Nick could woo her with a wise retort, she continued. “I’ll be here tomorrow, same time, same place. I planned to give away free stuff today only… But, for you, I can make an exception...”

 

Her smile widened as she tipped a wink to the todd.

Nick would have returned that brilliant smile with one of his own, if he weren’t so stunned. He couldn’t think of a time he was so... dumbfounded. Was it those big eyes? Her smile? Or something else? He really didn’t know.

 

 _“What’s wrong with you, fox?”_ his brain scolded. “ _At least give her a reply!”_

“O-okay...” he said, finally, his expression still blank. His brain finally got the message as his muzzle managed to mirror her smile.

And with his carefully crafted silver tongue, he formulated the smoothest reply in his life.

“Thanks! Well... Great, even... I’ll be here! So, so nice of you... You’re really nice... I mean, nice in talking. Without talking, you’re nice, too, I suppose! Since you look nice, too. Not that I would like you to not talk! That wouldn’t be nice. And tomorrow, it would be nice to see you...” he sputtered and stammered, the words reaching his brain and killing him inside, one syllable at a time.

 

_“What the hell just happened?”_

 

The bunny had a quizzical look on her face during Nick’s gibberish. Though the sound of her laughter, still sweet and happy, slightly eased the knot in his stomach.

“It would be nice to see you tomorrow, too, Nick.” She smiled again, before turning to pack her stall up into the push cart that held it. Nick could only stand and watch her quick movements, still embarrassed by his jumbled words. Until it occurred to him she had called

him by his first name.

 

“How did you know my name?” he demanded, his voice much more confident. It was his firm resolve to not ridicule himself further.

She finished packing with two ‘clicks’ from her pushcart, before turning to him.

“Lucky guess?” she asked with a smug smile. “Or maybe I can read minds… Oh! That would be good for business!” The bunny tapped her chin thoughtfully, her expression far off, as though she was considering how to acquire that kind of power. Nick wasn’t too happy with her possibly being able to read minds, as his had been doing strange things for past ten minutes.

 

Then she looked at him again and smiled so sweet, it made the chocolate popsicle seem bitter in comparison. With a grace she hadn’t displayed in their short acquaintanceship, she moved closer to the fox. And with the way she leaned into him, he found himself hating their size difference. Had she not been a head shorter than him, their muzzles would have connected easily. But, alas, she was smaller, making her head leveled with his chest.

And he found himself drowning in her eyes. Wide, purple eyes that mirrored his own. Nick wasn’t really sure what he was feeling from their sudden closeness, shock or excitement. Though his eyes widened further as she placed her paws on his chest to raise herself up further.

Lips nearly touched his shirt as they opened slightly, purple eyes holding just the right amount of mischief as they met his own. His own lips parted as watched her rise up closer, salivating when her opened mouth began to purse...

...And puffed out air.

Onto his badge.

With his name on it.

 

“Oh...” he thought. _“Yeah... Oh... ya big dummy...”_

 

With the inside of her wrist, she polished the badge, sticking her tongue out from this little effort.

 _“She’s pure”,_ he thought, _“like a tear”. Cleaning my badge... And here I am, hopi- thinking she’s lurking on my nipple.”_

“So...” she began when she finished her task. Leaning back, her eyes lingered on his freshly polished badge before meeting his eyes. “Tomorrow then, Officer Wilde?”

Not daring to look away, he dumbly nodded.

 _“And here is to my confidence and not ridiculing myself further”_ , he thought as she pulled further away from him. “ _Yay!”_

 

_“Officer_Wilde.exe is not responding. Exit program?”_

“So, bye then!” she smiled to him one last time, before turning to push the cart.

All too soon, she was out of sight. And her absence caused him to let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Slowly but surely, the world pieced itself back together again, just as crowded and noisy as ever. Only now, without the smiling bunny, it looked like a jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing.

 

_“Hold on, Nick! his brain protested. What’s up with this romantic crap? The lost puzzle piece? Is everything all right with me? I can’t be missing the bunny! That bunny! Just like a little pup. Not to mention, I only met her fifteen minutes ago._

_I don’t even know her name!_

 

_Fine. I’ll come back tomorrow and I’ll ask her. And I’ll ask her about other things too. Fine? Fine._

_Fine..._

_Fine?_

_FINE! I came her to give her a **FINE!**_

_Bogo’s going to kill me._

_I hope I’ll look good stuffed and on display in his office... Or maybe he would prefer to turn me into a fox butt rug. Or a blanket for a rainy day?_

_Time will tell.”_


	2. Searching

__A/N Chapter edited and enchanted by **blueberryandhoney.**

Big thank you for all kudos, bookmarks, and reviews! It means soooooo much to me!

**Chapter 2**

_“What to do now?”_

Nick was coming back to the precinct, thinking about all the possible ways to talk to Bogo when he returned.

_“Do I tell the Chief that I didn’t find the seller? But what if somebody saw me there? And wouldn’t it be proof that I’m really bad at searching?_

_Lying wasn’t an option._

_So what was? Telling the Chief that the seller was so damn pretty, I couldn’t construct any coherent sentence? Yeah, Buffalo Butt would be charmed for sure..._

_I can tell the Chief that exposing an unprepared male to female who happens to be sans underwear should be defined as a weapon of mass_

_destruction? And I should get and award for not making out with the bunny, there and then?_

_Oh, that definitely should work”_ , he thought with a defeated sigh and roll of his eyes.

 

But then, Nick remembered something very important: the bunny wasn’t selling anything... yet. He could tell this to Bogo and, what’s more, that he happens to know that the big, bad seller is going to be in the same place tomorrow. And he, Nicholas Wilde, decided to be so smart and efficient by catching her red-pawed!

 

Yup, that’s the best way he could think of. And Nick had to tell himself that this sounds like the world’s greatest master plan ever thought up. No surprise considering it came from him.

 

Despite the fact that he really didn’t want to get her into any trouble, Nick really wanted to catch the bunny. Not red-pawed, per se, but rather red underwear... if she happens to have that as part of her wardrobe.

 

_“Bad, bad fox! What happened to the ‘never-let-them-see-they-get-to-you’ guy? It’s just a rabbit I happened to meet at work, and I’m thinking these... things! Ugh!_

_Wait, wait.... can I hear wedding bells?”_

 

He chuckled to himself. No way he was feeling like this because of a ‘rabbit’.

But to be fair, no-body could judge the fox for his spicy thoughts. The last time he made out with someone was.... well, never. Yup. True, most foxes mate for life. And as romantic and glorious as it was, sometimes it was like a curse and made everything really, really difficult. Not that he was complaining too often; he was busy making his dream come true. He always wanted to become a cop. To become the very first fox officer!

 

There were some vixens giving him hungry eyes, but he left falling in love, and everything that went with it, for later. He didn’t have time for cubs and family life. And that was what most vixens were looking and hoping for.

 

However, he was a male after all. He had his urges, even if these things were currently left for the imagination only.

So that imagination was working at maximum burn for about half an hour now and was making full use of the images of a certain grey and white, flicking tail.

 

Fluffy thoughts didn’t leave him until he was walking through the precinct doors. And they only left because of his sheer force of will. Pushing them away till a more… private... time, he waved at the chubby cheetah sitting at the reception desk.

 

“Hey, Benjamin!” the todd greeted as he got closer. “Anything new for me?”

Benjamin looked up from his phone (which was, no doubt, playing a video of favorite singer), the entranced grin on his face dropping to surprised as he looked up and around in confusion before landing on the fox. Phone set aside, the cat beamed at Nick as he leaned over his desk.

“Hey, Nick! No, sorry, there’s been no calls for you.” His voice held a slightly apologetic note that did nothing to improve Nick’s mood.

 

He really wanted a to get a case! A real case, a case that would make every pulled muscle and bruise and sleepless night spent studying at the academy worth the effort.

Not chasing down illegal street sellers.

No matter how attractive they were.

Or how aggressively they dominated his mind.

 

Work would be a great distraction. And something more than parking duty (which he did the first month on duty) and street patrol. He was a cop, damnit! With the makings of a great cop!

 

“I better head to the Chief’s office,” he sighed, tapping the counter top. “Need to report today’s patrol.”

The cheetah nodded and gave him a distracted wave, before he turned to watching the video.

_“Is it an addiction”,_ Nick though with a shake of his head.

 

Nick climbed up the stairs leading to Bogo’s office, knocking on his door, and waiting for the grumpy response.

“Come in,” came the rumbling voice and Nick did as he was told.

“Hey, Chief, I just came back from my patrol on Sunday Street.”

“I can see that,” the buffalo grunted looking up from the paperwork on his desk. “Did you find the seller?”

Nick felt his heart rate speed up, but he managed to keep his face blank.

“Yes, sir, I think I found the seller, but he... I mean, she.... ‘cause it was a female... uh, she wasn’t selling anything.”

Bogo raised his eyebrows and looked at the fox in surprise. “So, mind explaining to why the street seller was standing on Sunday Street with the stall and merchandise?”

“What I mean is...” the fox felt his throat grow dry as the buffalo stared him down. Clearing his throat, Nick continued. “She hasn’t been selling anything, yet.”

The fox officer gave a bright forced smile as Bogo continued to stare in disbelief. With a sigh, one large hoof reached up to tug the eye glasses from the bridge of his muzzle.

“What do you mean by ‘yet’?” he asked. His quiet tone had Nick’s stomach turning.

“Well, sir... Uh-hm... Yes, well, today it was only free samples, which, due to city code and regulation, isn’t illegal.” Nick felt his smile falter some as Bogo’s expression remained blank, his brown eyes resting on the fox. “A seller doesn’t need a permit to advertise...”

Starting to feel the pressure of his boss’ stare, Nick’s brain scrambled for any piece of reason to present to Bogo. Anything other than a bunny short circuited his brain and now all he could think of was the firm plump rear stuffed into a fur tight skirt.

“But tomorrow, when she starts selling, I can go back and check for the permit then!”

 

Bogo thought for a while, lowering his gaze to the desk as he did, before snapping his gaze back up to the todd in front of him.

“Very well,” he said, finally. “I hope I don’t have to worry about you knowing the proper procedures. So, after Bull Pen and assignments, head back and CHECK FOR THAT PERMIT.”

Nick gulped and gave a nod. “Yes, sir.”

“And don’t let me down.” The buffalo leaned back in his chair and rested his hooves on his stomach. “For now, get back to your paperwork. Dismissed.”

 

Not needing any encouragement, Nick jumped from his spot and rushed for the door, barely remembering to salute Bogo before vanishing. With a sigh, he leaned against the closed door, passing a paw over his muzzle to recenter himself.

Shaking his head, Nick headed to his cubicle, the smallest one in Precinct One.

Dropping his body into his desk chair, the todd started to go through his options in his head. There was no way he’d be able to focus on paperwork, not after a day like today. He need to do something about the bunny. It was almost a guarantee she didn’t have a permit, but it was possible one was pending. Worth looking into, if it meant keeping her from getting into trouble. He needed to make sure this bunny got everything she needed to sell her product.

 

And to check, he would need to find her name, company name or otherwise.

“Where to start…?” he thought, grimly.

 

Chocolate. The bunny was selling chocolates. He could check Zoogle to see if there were any pictures posted of the same chocolate popsicles.

Opening the search bar, he typed in ‘chocolate bunny’. And was greeted by a few million results for chocolate Easter bunnies. Not really what he was looking for.

 

_“Where the hell does this tradition come from?”_ he muttered to himself in annoyance.

Scrolling through the results, he felt himself grow frustrated.

_“There aren’t peppermint foxes at Christmas”,_ Nick thought frowning. _“And there’s no marzipan bats at Halloween. This has to come from some creep. Who the hell looks at a bunny and thinks ‘Yeah, I’d like to coat that in chocolate and take a bite’?”_

It was no surprise that the bunny he was searching for popped up in his mind. Coated in chocolate and smiling coyly, her eyes inviting him to take a nibble.

 

Shaking his head against the image, ignoring the flush of heat, he refocused back on the screen. Right onto the naked bunny buck he landed on, his clothing consisting of thin foil, discarded next to him.

 

_“A million of pictures and this is the one I had to click_ ”, he thought with a roll of his eyes.

Clicking back, Nick left the cursor in the search bar as he thought on how to narrow his results. Debating on whether he should add ‘head’ to his research was dismissed. Considering what he found without it, he wasn’t prepared for what else would come up. He needed to try another route.

 

Zoogle was too general. Nick could try Furbook, but how could he enter what he was looking for? **HE** didn’t even know what he was looking for, really. Sighing again, he flopped back into his desk chair. Green eyes scanned his own Furbook wall, hoping to spark an idea. Scrolling idly, he was ready to give up and go back to paperwork. Until he saw it.

 

A friend of his liked something.

The notification showed it was a friend of a friend’s picture that was liked... maybe a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend... best not think that hard about it. But there it was, clear as day. A black sheep, smiling into her camera, with a chocolate bunny head poised to eat and what he was sure she thought was a flirtatious smile. The long series of tags almost had Nick rolling his eyes as he read them, until they came to #HoppsHopsToTheCity.

 

_“Hopps... hops? Like hippity hop? The way a rabbit hops?”_

Nick’s heart started to beat faster.

_“Could this be a clue?”_ he thought _. “Is it possible to find her that way?”_

His paw trembled as he clicked on the ewe’s friend list. ‘Hoops’ was typed into the search bar and hit enter.

And there was Hopps.

All 213 of them.

 

Nick’s jaw dropped.

_“You gotta be kidding me!”_ , he thought exasperated. _“Well, she **did** say something about multiplying.”_

 

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he flicked through the names. There was no way he could look through all of these before the day was over. But at least now he had a surname... possible surname, but it was worth a check.

And there was someone at City Hall who could check if any Hopps had a license to sell. Pulling at his phone, feeling a sense of excitement at how close he was, he found right number and hit call.

 

And after five minutes that felt like hours, the other end picked up, and Nick said:

“Flash, Flash, hundred yard dash! Mind if I pay you a visit?”


	3. Finding

A/N

Firstly, I want to thank all my beta readers for spending their time checking if this chapter is written correctly. Thanks!

Especially I want to thank **blueberryandhoney** \- her touch did wonders to this chapter! I can't thank you enough!

Secondly, I want you to know that I don't have all this story prepared, I have only a slight concept what to put in here, and mostly all the ideas come to me while writing, like some kind of pop-up ad. ;) So if you have any interesting ideas what to add do this story, feel free to pm me.:):)

I also want to reeeeeeally thank you for every kudos, bookmark, review, and generally for reading!:)

 

Now, back to the story.

 

**Chapter 3**

"Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccckkkkkkk...!" Flash the sloth said with what could be (in a sloth's terms) excitement, stretching fox's name for a fifteen seconds.

"What's... up... my... fox... buddy...?"

"Everything's great, thanks," Nick said. "Busy as always, so I don't have a whole lot of time. But I have one thing to check up, and-"

But apparently the sloth wasn't finished with his greeting.

"Long... time... no... see... huh...?" he continued.

Nick waited for about a half of minute to make sure that Flash finished all he had in his sloth's mind, and took his breath to repeat his previous statement, when the sloth started to speak again.

"Nick... I... can't... hear... any... thing... are... you... still... there...?"

Calling Flash was always a fun.

So the fox tried again.

"Sorry, Flash. Yeah, long time no see. We need to catch up more often," he said, then quickly repeated what he said before. "But now I have one thing to check up, and it seems you're the best mammal I can turn to."

The fox waited for the reply.

Waited.

And waited.

"Sure... Nick..." Flash finally said. "Come... over… when... you... want... buddy... I'll... be... at... work... till… four… P... M..."

Nick thanked him, said his goodbye and ended the call. He needed a coffee right now. His mind, after talking with Flash, started to slow down a bit. And there were two piles of reports, which wouldn't magically fill themselves. He needed to finish them by three to catch Flash before he left. The sloth wasn't very fast in leaving his workplace (he wasn't fast in anything to be honest), but the todd didn't want to stretch his luck.

 

/

 

Nick knocked at the door to Flash's office. He waited there for a few seconds, before he heard really slow reply.

"Please... come... in..."

When Nick entered the room, Flash's expression slooowly turned from bored to cheerful, and after another few seconds the todd heard joyful greeting.

"Niiiiiiiiiiiiccccckkkkkk…!"

The fox smiled as he came closer to the sloth, shook his claws, and decided to start checking up the bunny immediately, since it will probably be way too long than it should be, anyway.

"Flash, buddy, I need your help," Nick said.

"Shoot," Flash replied.

"I want to find out if somebunny ( _hehehe_ ) named Hopps has a seller's permit."

Flash slowly (if he could do it otherwise) turned his head to Nick, a little frown on his face.

"Can't... you... just... ask... this... somebunny... about... it...?" the sloth asked.

Nick, thinking quick, winked and said, "It's my secret mission."

It was better to put it that way.

Flash looked at him, and nodded in agreement. "OK... then..."

The sloth turned to the open doorway and started calling to the next room,

"Hey... Priscilla…?"

Some seconds later, another sloth come to Nick's view, as Priscilla tilted her head through the doorframe.

"Yes... Flash...?" she asked.

"My... buddy... here... needs... to... check... a… seller's... permit..." Flash explained, while reaching his paw towards Nick's arm.

"Oh... no... problem... for... a... friend... of... my... friend" Priscilla said, putting on her flirtatious smile and slowly winking at Flash. "Come... with... me... Darlin'…" she turned to Nick, "I'll... check... it... in... a... flash..."

 _"Of course you will",_ thought Nick with a strained smile.

 

/

 

"What... name... are… we... checking…?" Priscilla asked, sitting at her desk.

"Hopps. Double P. " Nick said, and prepared himself for long waiting.

Priscilla started tapping the screen of her computer. "H… O... P... P…"

Suddenly, sloth female stopped typing as she and Nick heard Flash asked them from another room.

"Nick... Priscilla... you... wanna... hear... a... joke?"

"NO!" Nick shouted in panic, eyes going wide as he gripped the countertop in exasperation.

Telling jokes to sloths was totally no fun. It took ages for them to get it. But sloths telling jokes were even less fun. And everybody knew why.

Flash entered the room, with a look of hurt on his face.

"No...?" the sloth asked, and Nick felt guilty for his outburst. He was so determined to check this rabbit, he wounded his old friend.

Nick put on a fake smile, and winked encouragingly.

"I said 'GO'!" he lied. "Come on, I can't wait to hear it!"

Flash was utterly happy to hear that. "Which... day... do... fish... hate...?"

The sloth asked. He waited for a moment before delivering the answer,

"Fryday!"

Nick burst out laughing, and a few moments later both sloths started their slow, but adorable mirth.

"Ha... ha..."

When the fox's laughter started to slow, Nick smiled to himself watching both sloths still giggling in slow-motion. It looked like they would have fun from the joke for a little longer than the fox.

After a minute or so, Priscilla sighed slowly and smiled at Flash. "Gross..."

She wiped a tear, which formed in the corner of her eye, and shook her head.

"Hey, not true! You should try this first!" Nick said to her.

"No... way..." she answered, and then turned back to her computer to tap the forgotten "S" before hitting enter.

Flash went back to his office as Nick come closer to female sloth, looking over her head to see the results.

"Only... one... Hopps... here... in... Zootopia... seller's... registry..." Priscilla said, and then she tapped the only "Hopps" the system had found.

Hopps, Judith Laverne. 24 years old. Born in BunnyBurrow. The seller's permit status: 'In Progress'.

"What does it mean 'in progress'?" Nick asked.

"It... means... this... Hopps... asked... for... the... permit... but... she... has... not... gotten... it... yet..." Priscilla explained.

_"So, technically she can't sell anything yet. Not good. Not good."_

"How can I speed it up?" Nick asked. Pricilla's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Getting this permit?"

"Well... we... have... sixty... days...to... give... her... permit... and... she... submitted... the... application... only... thirty... days... ago..." Priscilla stated, looking over the information on her computer.

Nick screamed internally. But he was determined to rescue the bunny from any fines she would get tomorrow. There wasn't any harm in using some charm. Any means at his disposal and all that.

"Ok, I get it. But you know, she is my friend... and I'd like to help her a little with this." Nick winked, before leaning forward to ask, "Is there any chance to do it today?"

Priscilla looked at the clock, and then back to Nick.

"We... can... try..." she said, and then she started to call all her co-workers to get information she needed to give the permit out. And since other co-workers were sloths too, it took time. Lots and lots….and lots… and lots of time.

Meanwhile, Nick took out his phone from the pocket, and decided to do a little research to make sure they found the right mammal.

_"Judith Laverne Hopps was it?"_

He opened his Furbook app, and typed the name in.

Furbook corrected his search, and showed him the profile of Judy Hopps, which the fox tapped quickly.

And then he saw her. Again. In the photo.

It was THIS bunny. Gray. Beautiful. Smiling lightly and sticking out her tongue a little to whoever was holding the camera.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

 _"Nice to see you again, Judy",_ he thought, a smile curling his muzzle.

After some minutes of simply staring at her, to prevent himself from drooling (which has already started), Nick exited the app. Being careful to not tap 'add a friend' (that would be hard to explain), he sighed contently.

If everything went well, he wouldn't have any reason to punish her tomorrow.

He couldn't do it anyway, permits or no permits.

 _"Hmm, but maybe some day_..." His smile became a bit more distant as a daydream snuck up on him.

 _"Me in my police uniform…",_ he thought, feeling pleased with next image,  _"...and she with the pawcuffs on her wrists- OOOOHHHHH NOT AGAIN, NICK! FOR THE FOX'S SAKE!"_

Nick shook his head.

 _"I need to come back to my sanity ASAP."_ the todd muttered as he brought a paw to bridge of his nose and scrunched his eyes closed.  _"Maybe some beers with Finnick would do the job? Alcohol, swearing, watching box on TV and and I'll be my usual me again._

_I hope so."_

Nick typed a text to his old friend. The fennec was always up for a guy's night.

"Hey Fin. What about drinking session tonight?"-  **Slick Nick**

Some moments later, his phone buzzed as Finnick reply came.

"Again? Find a gf already!"-  **Big Guy**

Frowning down at the message, a flush swept under Nick' fur. But some seconds later, there was another text from the fennec.

"JK. 8 PM my van. Bring the beer."-  **Big Guy**

With the plan for the evening all set, Nick came back to Priscilla and her attempts to give the permit out. Apparently, Priscilla was done with her task.

"O... K... Nick... I... have... the... papers... ready... should... I... send... it... to... her... or... you... will... pass... it…along…?" she asked.

Nick was wondering what to do for a while, his mind and body at war with each other.

Remembering how long the mail would take made the decision a lot easier.

"I'll take it to her. I'm seeing her tomorrow." he decided, his tail starting wag as he reached for the permit.

Priscilla nodded and gave Nick the papers.

With the permit in his paws, Nick couldn't hide his excitement.

"Thank you, Priscilla! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I owe you one!" he said. His tail waged madly and his ears perked at the name sprawled across the paper.

_"I can't believe I really did it. I saved this bunny from myself. This bunny… With that cute little bunny butt… Bunny butt... Her butt... Butt..."_

"Oh... actually..." Priscilla said, tapping one of her claw to her chin, and Nick was drastically pulled out from his little dirty fantasy, "I... wonder... if... you... could…help… set... me... up... for... a... date..."

Nick's eyes widened.

"W-with... me-e?" the fox asked, shocked.

Priscilla looked at him like he had two heads, and then began her slow laugh.

"Ha... ha... ha... no... As... tempting... as... it... is... I... have... my... eyes... on... another... male… now..." Her eyes travelled slowly to the doorframe of Flash's office. "I'm... too... shy... to... ask... And... he... is... your... friend..."

Nick smiled to her as understanding blossomed.

"Sure. I'll see what I can do."

Priscilla smiled to him shyly. "Thanks..." she whispered.

Nick winked and clicked his tongue at her before going back to Flash's office.

The sloth was apparently leaving, since his day at the job was finished, slowly heading to the door.

"Flash, buddy," Nick began, catching the sloth in mid-step, "Thank you so much for sending me to Priscilla. She managed to get this permit I asked for! She's really great!" he said, emphasizing the last word.

"No... prob... Nick..." Flash said, apparently not getting the hint Nick was giving.

Nick decided to try another way of catching his attention. "Such a shame she's so down, though…" the fox said lightly, almost carelessly, and before turning to leave the office. "Bye, Flash."

That worked.

"Wait...!" The sloth called him, louder and quicker than the fox had ever heard him speak. When Nick stopped and looked over at him, Flash asked,

"Why... is... she... down…?"

The fox turned to look at his friend, who caught the bait, hook, line, and sinker. Schooling his face, he kept his body relaxed with just enough concern in his eyes to keep Flash's attention.

"Oh, nothing serious..." Nick said, stuffing his paws into his pockets and shrugging sadly. "She really wanted to have some dancing lessons, but it looks like she hasn't found the partner yet." He shrugged his shoulders again and continued, "I hope she finds one soon. Any male would be lucky to dance with her. You leaving already? I'll walk out with you."

Flash turned his head in Priscilla's office, then back to Nick.

"You... know... what...? Maybe... I... could... join... to... her... at... these… lessons...?"

Nick pretended that this had  **JUST**  dawned on him.

"Flash! You're brilliant! You could be a great partner for her!" he shouted, with wide eyes. "Why didn't I think about it?" he wondered out loud.

Flash chuckled before replying, "My... name... obliged… me... to... quick... thinking... Nick..."

Nick felt a little wounded by this statement, but he was utterly happy with the effect of his hustle.

 _"I still got it",_ he thought with a smug smile.

"Yeah, right! Flash, Flash, hundred yard dash! Sure!" the fox chuckled.

"Sooo... I'm outta here." Nick pointed the doors with his thumb "And you-" the fox turned his claw to Priscilla's office. "Bring it up, baby!"

Flash chuckled as they exchanged their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

 _"Nick, the Matchmaker."_ The fox chuckled to himself at that thought.

_"Sounds nice. Maybe someday I'll matchmake myself... with some Fluff Butt..._

_Fluff Butt…_

_Butt…._

_NO!_

_NO_ _**THAT** _ _AGAIN!"_


	4. Confessing

**A/N** Chapter 4 ready for you! YAY!

Again, big big big thanks to **blueberryandhoney** \- by beta reader, editor, and- with all the efforts she puts here- co-founder of this story.:):) You should definitely check up her stories!

 

Thank you for all kudos, bookmarks and comments!!! I LOVE THEM :)

 

**Chapter 4**

It was eight P.M. and Nick was knocking to the van's doors. Some moments later, a little fennec fox threw them open with baseball bat in his paw.

"Who is it?" he shouted with wild eyes, his voice deeper than his small size let on.

"Nice to see you, too, Finn." Nick said with a smirk as he held up the beers he was holding in his paw.

Finnick grunted something that could have passed as a greeting before he retreated back to the inside of his van, leaving the doors open for Nick to follow. Pausing by the cooler full of ice, the red todd tucked each can inside, saving one for himself and his host.

"Why always so rough?" Nick asked, sitting on one of the sofas the van provided and holding out a beer.

"Call it a habit I got the hard way," the fennec growled as he popped the top and took a deep drink. "You never know who's knocking."

"Even if you know it's me?" Nick chuckled as he followed Finnick's lead.

"Even if." he confirmed, before belching and stretching his limbs with a groan.

"Pal, it's been ages since you were doing somethin' illegal. You even have a cop-friend now." Nick pointed out.

Rolling his eyes, the fennec took another swig of his drink. Even if Finnick's past wasn't really something to brag, the sand fox came to the right side of the law long time ago. A fact Nick knew he was proud of, even over the numerous complaints.

"I said it's a habit, didn't I?" Finnick asked rhetorically. He drained his can before crushing it and turning to his guest. "OK buddy, don't beat around the bush. Why you here?"

Nick shrugged before he answered. "Can't I just visit my best friend?"

The little fox gave him a look, before snorting again and dragging himself up. Pausing by the cooler, Finnick touched one finger to the palm of his paw, turning to Nick with look of impatience.

"First, I'm not THE best friend. I'm your ONLY friend..."

Nick theatrically grasped his chest in place where his heart was beating.

"I'm so wounded!" The fox cried.

But Finnick continued unruffled, pointing a second finger. "And second, you've got work tomorrow, so don't say this 'drinking session' isn't suspicious. Somethin' must have happened." Another can was pulled free before he resumed his spot on the couch. "So spill!"

Nick turned from him, shaking his head.

"Your belief in me is overwhelming, pal. I just needed to drink something stronger than coffee, and have a little chit chat you. By the way, it's still cool outside at this hour. Hard to believe summer is coming." Nick said, trying to move the conversation to another topic.

He wasn't stupid enough to believe it would work, but he tried it anyway.

"You fuckin' kidding me? You want to chat about the weather?" Finnick asked in disbelief, his snout wrinkled in annoyance. "Spill it or eat shit."

The little fox was never short of eloquent ultimatums.

Nick was ready to this kind of questions, so he prepared a safe answer for himself.

"Gosh, buddy, chill out! Don't worry, there was no vixen playing with my heart if that's what you're thinking." Nick said lightly, smirking and sipping his beer.

The fennec's body relaxed a bit, but suspicion was still etched in his face.

"Really?" Finnick asked, and Nick shook his head.

"Correct. No pretty, red tails messing with my sanity. But it's touching that you're so jealous."

Nick batted his eyes at him before tilting his head to avoid the eventual hit from an empty can. And he did the right thing, because he dodged it flying in his direction just in time.

"Fuck off!" Finnick shouted, and he opened another can. But then his face and posture softened as he continued. "But good that it's not a vixen who brings you here. I'm totally shitty at giving advice. I ain't not love doctor!"

Then there was silence between the two friends. But Nick was very tired with the events of the day, and he really was dying to tell somebody about it just to ease his mind. And he couldn't be picky about it, since Finnick was right- he wasn't his just his best friend. He was his only friend. So, after sighing deeply, Nick broke the silence and confessed.

"She's actually a bunny."

Finnick choked with his beer, and started to cough frantically, desperately gasping for air. Nick was watching this without any enthusiasm, and with a big amount of irritation. When Finnick was finished with coughing, he started a full bellied laugh, still gasping for breath as his hacks started to subside.

"Damn, Nick, don't fucking joke with me while I'm drinkin'! I could have died here!" he croaked, as he continued to laugh. "But that one was good."

Silence greeted his big ears, and he turned his head to Nick to see that he is not laughing. And that his muzzle was showing the grudge instead of amusement, his friend's green eyes focused determinedly on the can in his paw. Finnick stiffened.

"...Because it was a joke, right?" the little fox asked. "Come one, cut the shit. Your poker face is getting better, 'cause I'm starting to believe you."

But Nick didn't reply.

Finnick's eyes widened so much it almost drop out of his head.

"Fuck, dude, you're not joking!" the little fox shouted, looking at his friend in horror.

Nick looked at him with pure irritation. "And you are so shocked, because...?" Finnick shook his head, not giving an answer, so he continued.

"It's not THAT weird. Not common, but not impossible."

Even saying out loud didn't keep Nick from feeling wounded.

"Today you are chasing preys, tomorrow you'll admit you are a gay!" Finnick shouted, disgusted.

Nick's jaw dropped as his ears down in anger.

"How can you compare this to that!" Nick asked in disbelief "Being a gay-"

But his words were interrupted by Finnick.

"It's not THAT weird. Not common, but not impossible," he parroted back to Nick. "I'm afraid to turn my BACK to you since today!"

Nick was boiling inside, but after being serious for another few seconds, Finnick's muzzle broke from being disgusted and angry to amused and delighted. The little fox started laughing so hard he couldn't breath again. Nick felt completely dumbfounded seeing this. Confusion churned his stomach at his friend's reaction.

"And I'm not telling ANYTHING to you since today." he growled childishly, before he crossed his arms and waited for Finnick to shut up.

When the fennec's laughter started to fade, the little fox rubbed his eyes moistened from mirth. "Heh... Nick, you looser, I'm just pulling your leg."

The red fox looked at him with wide eyes, his ears perking up. "What?"

"Like do they say it? You've been pranked, bro?" Finnick asked, still utterly happy with the effect of his joke. "You should see your face!"

Nick was unimpressed.

"Seriously? Do you even know what a 'prank' is? Damn." Nick sipped his beer and sighed. "Like this day wasn't crazy enough."

Falling back further into the couch, he let himself drown in sofa's pillows.

"Sorry, fox, but I couldn't help myself." Finnick said. "You looked so serious and... and... I had to. By the way, you know me long enough to know I don't negate any kind of relationship."

The taller todd was relieved that his friend didn't judge him. Nick didn't know how he could even catch this bait, since Finnick has a lot of gay friends and he never seemed to be bothered. The fennec even had his eyes on gazelle waitress some time ago.

_Dumb fox._

But even though he was feeling a little better, Nick still wasn't in his usual mood. And seeing this, Finnick decided to check what got to him so much.

"Sooo... a bunny?" the fennec asked, looking into his half full can with light smirk still on his muzzle before taking another big swallow.

With a nod, Nick sighed. "Yeah... a bunny."

"Female bunny?" Finnick asked, just to annoy his friend for the last time.

Nick sent him a gaze that could kill, so he chuckled to himself again. "So what's with her? Who is she anyway?"

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words. How could he even begin to explain? He himself wasn't even able to sort through the jumble she turned his thoughts into.

"I... I don't know. I mean I know, but not from her. I found out somewhere else. I did some research and looked her up. Her name is Judy and she is a street seller." He explained, eyes squeezed shut and nose pointed to the ceiling.

Finnick ears perked up and his eyes brightened.

"Street seller? Damn, that sound familiar!" the fennec shouted with excitement "What is she selling?"

Nick knew that look, but decided to ignore it.

"She's not selling anything... yet. She's starting tomorrow. I helped her expedite the seller's permit." Nick said "And she's going to sell sweets.

Finnick's muzzle lightened up ask he asked:

"Pawpsicles maybe?"

Nick laughted and rolled his eyes. "Bunn-sicles, actually, Finn. And they're not exactly like your Pawpsicles back then. I think that noone can reach your level of genious and sell popsicles made from stolen sorbets.

"I WASN'T STEALING!" Finnick shouted, trying to self-defence himself. "I was just… borrowing without giving back"

Nick chuckled at his explanation.

"Yeah, yeah. Call it what you want. You are done with it though, so it doesn't matter to me now" Nick stated "I wasn't a cop back then."

Finnick felt, that their talk is going the wrong way, so he decided to take it back to the right direction.

"So Judy the Bunny is selling chocolates. You get her the permit. Now you are waiting for a reward." Finnick assumed.

""No!" Nick replied quickly "I wouldn't mind though…" the fox almost whispered, his fluffy thoughts crashing into him like a tsunami, but he immediately put them back to the rear of his troubled mind. "What I mean, I didn't do that for a reward. She doesn't even know I did it." Nick finished with his shoulders slumped and ears lowered.

Finnick gave him quizzical look, and asked. "Care to elaborate?"

Sighing for the hundredth time that evening, Nick started explaining. "She was going to sell her products tomorrow, but she didn't have the permit..."

"She was going to sell without the permit?" Finnick interrupted him, his eyes shining from glee. "My girl!"

Nick gave him a look, and continued.

"...She didn't have the permit YET. She applied for it a month ago. She isn't from Zootopia, so probably she didn't know how long it took to get actually get one. I was ordered by my boss to check if she has a permit..."

"...And she said she didn't...?". Finnick finished, and Nick had to sigh again.

"She didn't denied it..." Nick said, polishing off his drink and fidgeting with the empty can.

"So she lied?" Finnick asked utterly happy. "My girl!"

"No!" Nick answered, his voice carrying a bit too much force. "She didn't lie."

Gears in Finnick's head were working at maximum speed, but he still didn't get it.

"Your statements are conflicted, Officer Wilde." Finnick said, finishing off his beer and fetching another.

"Listen, she didn't lie about anything. I simply didn't ask her about it, ok?" Nick stated, pulling his ears down in irritation.

Finnick looked at him intensely. "So... your chef ordered you to ask her about the permit. You spent a shift hunting her down and you didn't ask about it?"

Nick nodded, feeling ashamed. "Yup..."

"And what stopped you?" Finnick asked, as he felt growing interest in what the fox would say.

Looking over at Finnick, Nick's ears flattened against his head.

"You won't kill me with your laugher, will you?" he asked shyly, causing his host to perk his ears and raise his eyebrows with interest. Now the little fox felt even more curious, as he shook his head. "Shoot."

Turning away, the red todd stared off into an empty space of the van, the silence stretching out as Finnick waited for him to continue.

"Do you believe in love at the first sight?"

For the fennec, it sounded so cheesy he had to put his paws to his snout to stop himself from giggling. But after seeing hurt cross Nick's face for the second time that night, he sighed and shook his head.

"I never had a chance to experience that. I actually never even believed in it." he said, with a shrug of his shoulders.

Nick nodded, deep in thought.

"You know that I didn't, either," he answered, finally, his eyes still far away.

"But I'm sure that today... it was something like that when I saw her."

He buried his muzzle in his paws, and growled in helplessness.

"Fuck, Finn, you should have seen me when had to talk to her. I was so stunned I couldn't say anything. Every coherent sentence was just- POOF!- gone! I went there to ask her if she had a permit. And if she didn't, I was supposed to give her a fine, and that would be the end of the story. And then I saw her..." Nick trailed off.

Finnick waited for him to continue for a minute before he gave up. The red fox apparently was done with explaining, his expression going distant again. He most likely started daydreaming.

"Damn, that has to be a hot bunny!" Finnick said, his eyes wide. "To get to 'nothing-gets-to-me' and 'my-job-is-my-only-life' guy! Congrats, fox. My little, baby fox is finally a todd!"

Nick, dragged out from his dreamland, shot him a look. After a loaded moment of silence, he shook his head.

"Maybe I've been single for too long. When I saw her, I felt like teenager who can't control his hormones. I didn't ask her about that damn permit, but I had to know! So I went to Flash, the sloth, you remember? And his co-worker said that this bunny didn't have the papers ready. I asked them to speed it up, so they did." Nick stopped for a while to take a breath. When

he continued, his voice lowered to almost a whisper. "I had to do it. I felt like I had no choice. I wouldn't forgive myself for giving her a fine. Not to mention, it's not the best way to start the friendship."

"Just a friendship?" Nick gave him a tired look, making Finn throw his paws up in surrender. "Ok, ok, I get your point, and I can totally see that she got to you. But what's you plan? Is she even single too?"

This question hit Nick like a hammer. He haven't had time to think about it.

Was she even single?

" _Oh no!"_ , his thoughts became a frenzy even as his brain shut down _, "What if she already has a boyfriend? Or fiancee? Or… husband? Is "Hopps" her family name, or did she get it from her husband? I didn't see a ring on her finger, but honestly... I mean, I wasn't looking at her paw that long... she had such a beautiful eyes..._

_What if she came to Zootopia because her mate lives here?"_

Nick started to freak out.

"I don't know... Fuck, Fin, I don't know! What if she's already taken?" Nick growled. "First time in my life I feel like this, and she could be of the market."

"Easy there, fox." Finnick tried to comfort his friend. "You need to take a step back and stop stressin'. You'll ask her tomorrow."

Nick looked skeptical.

"Didn't I just say that I can't think straight when I'm with her?" he asked.

Finnick snorted.

"You won't know if you don't ask. For now, you just need to get to know her more. You know? See how you can get further with her. Bah! There's all the advice you gonna get from me. So suck it up, shake it off..." then his muzzle widened in a knowing smile, as he continued, "...and jerk it a little to ease your mind and tension..."

This time, it was Nick's turn to throw an empty can in his friend. Finnick dodged the missile with a snort of laughter, then sat on the sofa next to his friend, tossing him a new beer. The little fox smirked as the can gave a satisfying hiss as it was opened.

"Talking about this stuff" Finnick said, "we really need to turn the TV on and watch some boxing right now. After all this girly gossip, I need to check if my balls are still in place."

Nick grinned and shook his head at his friend as an old remote was fished out from between the seat cushions. The t.v. was flicked on and a boxing match selected, the two kangaroos on the screen menacing each other. Eyes on the match but not really seeing, the todd opened his beer and held it to Finnick.

"Thanks, Finn," he muttered, not looking at him.

Smiling at the light tap against the can, both foxes took a drink.

"Don't mention it, kit."


	5. Waiting

A/N

Hello! Chapter 5 is ready to read.:)

I want to really, really thank you for all kudos, bookmarks and comments you gave me! It makes me sooo happy than you like the story so far!

And again, a huge thanks to  **blueberryandhoney** for helping me with all this and adding her magical touch to my story. You are really great! ^-^

 

**Chapter 5**

The night wasn't gracious for Nick. The todd was lying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Beers (lots of them) didn't help to ease his mind, boxing match wasn't calming either, and the talk with Finnick, as comforting as it was, planted the seed of uncertainty in the fox's brain. And that seed was sprouting like there's no tomorrow.

" _Single or taken?_

_Taken or single?"_

Her words came back to his mind.

_"Hey, it's almost like we are kissing."_

Did she really say that? Yes, yes she did.

Nick's muzzle curled up into a warm smile at the memory.

" _Like we are kissing..."_

...and then she said she was joking.

His smile broke and he felt like his heart was crashing. He have never thought that not being certain if the feeling is mutual could hurt so much.

But then he started to rationalize it to himself.

_"No way she would joke about that things if she was taken! That would be evil!"_ Nick said to himself in the darkened apartment.

After a few secondsof relatively cleared mind, he started his debate with himself again, thevoice inside his head almost shouting.

" _She was flirting with me! No doubt she was flirting with me!"_

A dark, all too rational sounding voice crept up in his mind.

"But maybe it's just a bunny thing? Maybe she does it to anyone?"

The thought made him growl, the unreasonable prick of jealousy stinging in the pit of his stomach. Completely unreasonable, actually, since she wasn't even his friend, let alone girlfriend or mate.

" _NO!"_ he shouted in his mind.

Then, because that little seed of doubt had persistent roots, he whispered to himself, feeling more and more exhausted from all that thinking,

_"I hope... no..."_

He inhaled deeply, the deep-in-love part of his brain searching for more evidence of her interest in him.

" _She polished my badge!"_

The thought had him smiling. And as Nick thought more about this, it felt like the last and most profound bit of proof in this case.

_"...and no-one ever polished me anything..."_  he said to himself, his smile gaining a more dazed slack as he sighed again.

" _And_ _ **that's**_ _why you are so down!"_  said his inner voice, sounding strangely similar to Finnick's deep tone.

Nick growled in exasperation again before he took the pillow he was lying on and pressed it to his muzzle, hard.

" _Geez, I should be done with this kind of heart-stuff ten years ago!"_

It was one a.m. and sleep, despite being welcomed, wasn't coming. His shift started in 6 hours, and Nick knew that he was going to look like shit.

And he was going to meet Judy again, looking like shit. He squeezed his eyes to force himself to sleep, but did this ever helped anyone?

There was final thing he could try, a method only good as a last resort. The sheets were pulled closer and laid his head comfy on the pillow.

Sleep finally came as he was counting bunnies.

 

/

 

Morning welcomed the fox way too early for him, five hours of sleep wasn't enough to prevent from slightly hangover. He tried to blink away the sleepiness from his head. Some moments later, he was back to the world of living, before he realized that he is going to meet Judy in a few hours.

_"Today is the day! I'll see her again!"_

He jumped from his bed like it was on fire and ran to the closet to take out his uniform. On the way to the bathroom, he turned on his coffee machine to have the drink ready for after he was finished getting ready.

Not fully recovered from his dream, he thought he is so excited for today, like that character from that "Floatzen" movie, Anna. He and Finnick watched it one night, stone cold drunk. Nick still couldn't believe that they decided to watch it, but the amount of alcohol in their veins probably explained it all.

He remembered, through the booze filled fog, that he was crying at the end of the movie, when Anna was frozen. Meanwhile, Finnick was wondering out loud if selling popsicles shaped like the little frozen otter princess would be worth a shot.

He shook his head to clear his mind from these strange thoughts, and hoped the coffee would help him come back to his usual state.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Nick had to say that he looked better than he expected. Maybe not enough to knock-out Judy with his appearance, but enough for her to not run away from him.

But he really needed a shower to lose the smell of beer and cheap cigarettes Finnick smoked last night.

And when he thought back about what kind of dreams the counting bunnies caused him this night, he definitely needed a cold one.

 

/

 

Fully dressed, with fur groomed better than ever, and with the hard gained permit inside one of his pocket, Nick entered the Precinct One to start his day at work. He was greeted by Benjamin, who, as always, was munching his Lucky Chomps from a big white bowl.

"Hello Nick," Ben greeted the fox happily, but then his eyes went wide. "Wow, you look handsome today! Like a brand new fox." Ben added after looking closer to Nick's figure.

The todd felt a flush creeping onto his muzzle. He wasn't expecting anyone to see the extra effort he put in his appearance this morning. And Nick being Nick, tried to dodge further questions with a joke.

"Ben, stop flirting with me, or I tell your girlfriend" the fox playfully teased the cheetah.

For a while, Ben looked offended by what the fox was implying, but then a smug smirk curved his muzzle.

"What about  **your**  girlfriend? I've known you for year now, Nick, and I don't remember you ever mentioned any lady, hmm?" Ben asked, wagging his eyebrows at the fox, and Nick felt that all of this is going in wrong direction.

There was no way he would share his secret with Ben- the cheetah was the biggest gossip on the force.

" _And he had to ask about it just today? Have I got it written on my forehead or something?"_ he thought, but he quickly saluted to the cheetah.

"I am the officer on duty; I'm serving Precinct One with all my soul and body! I sacrifice my life to do my job well and proper, sir!" Nick recited in his most serious tone, causing the cheetah's brow to go up.

"Nick, I'm afraid you mistook me with Bogo." Ben leaned from his desk to be closer to the fox and whispered, "Oh, come on, fox, you can tell me anything! Do you have a date tonight? Do I know her? Is she a red one like you, or are you more into the arctic type?" He was pressing Nick to winkle out any information from him.

Nick felt the blush coming up to his muzzle, but then he sighed and gave him his calm reply.

"Do I have a date tonight? No, no I don't. So stop investigating me." Then he smiled smugly. "Ooor maybe you are asking about this because you want to wine and dine me tonight? Is that what this is?"

With a wink, he smoothed the fur on his head nonchalantly and continued, wide smile on his muzzle, "You should have just ask me about this, without all that stalking stuff".

Ben surrendered. This fox was insufferable sometimes.

"You know what, I'm not really interested in wining and dining you, but you should definitely join us when we go out sometime." Ben offered, and suddenly his muzzle lighted up. "Hey, me, Rhinowitz, McHorn and Wolfard are going out tonight, maybe you could come with us? Since you  **DON'T**  have a date. Unless you  **ARE** busy?" the cheetah suggested smugly, raising an eyebrow.

Nick looked at him and shrugged. There was no way that he would spend the evening with the bunny, anyway. Things usually don't go so quickly.

Even if he hoped for it.

"Sure. What time?" the fox asked.

Looking slightly disappointed with the fact that Nick really didn't have a plans for the evening, Ben's usual cheery attitude caused him to give out a light squeak of delight.

"Awww! Really? You'll go out with us?" Ben asked with a wide smile. "We're meeting after out shift and we're heading to RedHorns nearby."

"RedHorns?" Nick asked, his expression a little surprised. "But isn't it the pub, where... you know..." the fox was turning round with his paw while searching the best words to describe the place.

The cheetah gave him a look.

"I think you've heard about this place, Nick." Ben winked to the fox encouragingly. "It's worth going. You'll like it".

Nick went back to his memories, remembering the one time he was there with Finnick, and the fennec was ordering drink after drink only to ogle the gazelle waitress who was serving there that night, and it ended with little fox heavy-drunk, and the bigger fox hard-trying to pull the Finnick corpse out of the pub.

The pub itself wasn't too big, yet not that popular, but was popular for the occasional guys night. Even if it wasn't straight strip club, the waitresses were dressed up in the way that brought males in droves. The drinks weren't too cheap there, but considering what the view inside was like, it was worth paying.

" _I might really like it, yeah, sure... I'd like it more, if a certain bunny was a waitress... And I was her only customer..."_ Nick thought, feeling the warmth that was building down his belly.  _"Her, in that RedHorns waitress uniform... Damn, if it would ever be possible..."_

"So...?" Ben's voice dragged him out of his imagination.

"O-okey then." Nick said when he returned back to Earth.

"Great!" Ben squeaked one more time "I'll tell the guys you're coming!"

Whipping out his phone, the cheetah's attention was lost, fingers flying across the keyboard. No doubt letting the others know Nick was going out, too. And realizing he wasn't going to get anymore conversation out of the receptionist, the todd smiled and shook his head fondly at him.

"See ya," he said, Ben not hearing him, before he turned and headed to roll call.

 

/

 

Roll call with Chief Bogo went smoothly. There were no big cases for the day, and while the "usual, everyday, hadn't-seen-the-hottest-female in Zootopia Nick" would be disappointed with that fact, "today's Nick" was glad. There was nothing that could upset his plan for the day.

First, checking the evidence in a case of breaking into some mammal's bank accounts, then filling out all the paperwork that went with it, and now- finally!- heading to Savanna Central to meet "the big, bad seller" to check her permit. Her permit, which was tucked safely in Nick's pocket. And he couldn't stop smiling at the thought.

_"Should I give it to her directly? Or maybe I should ask her about it, and- when she's crying on my shoulder that, 'oh no, I still didn't get it!'- tell her that the one and only Nick Wilde saved the day?"_

He let out a dreamy sigh at the thought of her, tear stained from worry, blinking up at him. Her eyes would be shining with admiration, maybe she would sigh and put her arms around him, feeling the need to thank her hero...

An angry car horn snapped him out of his fantasy, the ram behind the wheel, shouting at him to watch where he was walking. Though once those beady eyes registered the police uniform, the driver gulped and gave a bashful wave of apology before driving off.

" _Snap out of it, Nick!"_  he scolded himself as he got closer to her stall.

Even if comforting her in his arms sounded appealing, the fox didn't want to cause this kind of situation.

He finally decided to just go to her and ask how she's doing. That was the best way to do it, even if all the rabbit pick-up lines, which Finnick taught him last night, were accurate (like "Are you the energizer bunny? Cause you just keep going and going through my mind!" or "Are you sure you are a bunny? Because you meet all of my KOALAfications!")

Yeah... it was best to save those for if he decided he wanted to be laughed at.

All he had to do was find her. Let her know that he was a fox of his word. Then he planned on smooth talking her (without embarrassing himself of course), add in some friendly joking, and, eventually, showing the permit.

He would tell her some story about ACCIDENTALLY getting the permit from some RANDOM clerk who was talking with him this morning BY CHANCE. And who was planning to send it to her, and since Nick was going to FORTUITOUSLY be near her stall on his foot patrol, he decided to pass it to her.

" _Huh! This sound like a scenario only life could write!"_

 

/

 

Nick, with a knot in his stomach, was approaching the place where she was supposed to be. He was so stressed, yet excited to see her again, he almost couldn't keep himself from running there.

" _Don't say anything stupid. Don't say anything stupid..."_  he kept repeating in his mind.  _"'Hello, Judy, how are you?'- see? It's not that hard. Try again. 'Hello, Judy, how are you?' 'Hello, Judy, how are you?' Yep, no way you could fuck up such a simple statement! But keep repeating this, just to be sure. 'Hello, Judy, how are you?'"_

Finally, he was one street away, forcing himself to slow down his pace, since being breathless wasn't too charming. He walked the same way he did yesterday, casual, confident, like there was nothing worth seeing on this side of town. Getting closer and closer to his destination, his heart speed up its rate. He was maneuvering among the crowd, almost a few steps from Judy's stall.

And then he saw her.

She was, as she promised, in the same place, at the same time, standing at her stall and waiting for a clients, smiling widely.

Nick couldn't stop his tail from wagging at the sight. She was so beautiful, even more beautiful than yesterday. But maybe it was that he missed her so much. He felt a growing ache in his chest as he took the permit out of his pocket and prepared himself to approach her.

He gave a last look at the paper to check that it was really in his paws, and that it was really her name on them. Then he turned his gaze back to Judy.

The permit fell to the ground.

Judy's face was lit up as she squeezed a tall, brown, and handsome male rabbit in a tight hug.


	6. Spilling

**A/N** Chapter 6 is ready for you! Sorry for the cliffhanger... ;)

Big thanks to  **blueberryandhoney** \- my great editor, because she's better than Harry Potter with her magicall skills that make my story waaaaay better than it is when it's my writing only.

Thank you for all favs, follows, and for the comments, I just LOVE them, they make me sooo happy when I get them! :) I still can't believe you like it so far.

Feel free to write me your opinions, and also your ideas if you have any, because I still do not have a complete concept for the story, all of this is just a boundle of ideas which I try to connect into one piece.

 

**Chapter 6**

Nick was standing a few meters from Judy's stall, watching her hugging a brown rabbit.

And that horrible ringing he heard was the sound of his heart breaking.

"Damn it..." he whispered to himself, a terrible pressure forming behind his eyes.

Even if she wasn't his, he felt nagging jealousy at the familiar way the rabbit buck interacted with her. It hurt far deeper than he anticipated.

Maybe it was a matter of biology on his part, or envy itself, but Nick really wanted to bite that stupid buck's face off.

The mixture of sadness and anger caused Nick to clinch his paws, his claws sinking into his skin. He decided to screw all this and go back to the precinct with his tail between his legs. It wouldn't be too hard to make up some excuse for not completing the task.

But the sound of flapping paper brought his attention away from the embracing bunnies. It was the permit he dropped, previously lying by his feet, but now flying, or rather scraping across the pavement, towards Judy and her boyfriend. The wind caused the permit to drift in a zig-zag away from the fox, and it was undeniably moving in their direction.

Nick shook off his stupor as he jumped to catch it in a blind panic, but missed. He lunged, bouncing on all fours from side to side, like a primitive cat chasing it's prey.

In a fit of desperation, he threw himself on top it, a triumphed 'HA!' gaining the attention of those passing by. But then his gaze moved from the permit under his paws to the pair of bunny feet now in front of him.

That got Judy's attention, as she broke the hug with the buck and looked down at Nick, who rised his body a little and was now kneeling on his one knee in front of her.

An awkward smile was plastered on the todd's face as the surprised bunnies blinked down at him. Judy's eyes were wide with surprise, but that was quickly fading as her muzzle curled in a smug smile. Paws lower to her hips, she cocked them and shook her head playfully.

"Oh, Nick, that's very flattering, but isn't it a little too quick?" She leaned down towards him and winked. "At least buy me a dinner first."

Nick looked up at her, not really knowing what she was talking about. Then he looked down at himself and the realization hit him hard. As hard as the blush that almost set his fur on fire.

There he was, smiling and kneeling in front of her. Only the ring was missing.

Attributing it to the really dumb look on his muzzle, Judy and the other rabbit to burst into laughter simultaneously. She then stretched out her paw to help Nick get up. He accepted her help, since he wasn't sure if his knees would work properly. After the array of emotion he just went through, he was surprise he hadn't had a heart attack yet. But, needless to say, he was more than willing to touch her.

Even if he felt like crawling into a hole and burying himself in it.

The paw contact ended way too quickly for him as he stood up straight. But it was when he looked into Judy's eyes that he was truly lost.

_"W-what I am s-supposed to say?"_ he thought frantically.

"He, he, he... hey!" Nick said, stretching his smile in a big, toothy grin. "I was just... I was just chasing eee... a paper!" He held up the permit up proudly, glad no-one could see the still powerful blush through his fur.

"See! I got it!"

Judy looked at his paw, then back to him.

"Good job!" she nodded, smiling. "I think that you earned a reward!"

Saying this, she turned to her stall to grab a chocolate Bunn-sicle, and then offered it to the fox.

"As promised," she added with a wink to him.

Nick, still smiling madly (though this time from her obvious happiness at seeing him), took the chocolate from her and thanked her. Wagging his tail, he started to open the foil to take the first bite.

There was a silence between the three of them, the buck's eyes moving from Judy to the todd in a pointed manner. After a moment, the doe jumped with realization, giving herself a light smack on the forehead.

"Ah! You two don't know each other. Jerry..." she turned to the brown rabbit as she stretched her paw towards Nick "...this is officer Nicholas Wilde, I met him yesterday." She turned to Nick, her smile softening as she met his gaze. "Fortunately, he wasn't giving me fine or something..."

Nick felt his heart drop at that statement.

"And Nick..." she continued, this time stretching her paw towards the rabbit, "...this is my brother, Jerry. He helps me a little with all this." Her paw swept over the stall.

_"Brother._

_He's her brother._

_Dear God in heaven, this is her brother! I'm saved from dying in sorrow!"_

Nick's brain was celebrating. But then another voice, apparently not invited for a brain-party, couldn't help but add it's two cents in.

_"Unless her boyfriend is somewhere else."_

That cut the fox's smile midway.

"Nice to meet you, Officer," Jerry said, offering the fox his paw. Nick had to resist jumping up and down with joy as he gave it a gentle shake.

"Nice to meet you, too." he said with a bit too much excitement, Jerry's eyebrows furrowing in amusement.

After he released his paw, Nick started to nibble his popsicle as Jerry turned to his sister.

"Ok, Jude. I'm going back to work. If you need something, call me." he told her.

Judy smiled at him before enveloping him in another hug. "Thank's again, Jerry. You're the best brother ever."

The buck pulled away and waved to Judy. With a salute to Nick, earning a light chuckle from both Nick and Judy, he turned and left. A few moments later, Jerry was out of sight and they were alone.

Well, as alone as they could be on a public street.

Judy looked over at Nick, her smile a little more shy.

"Err... I think I need to introduce myself to you, too," she said, fidgeting with her paws. "Because I didn't do that yesterday. I'm Judy. Judy Hopps."

A paw stretched out towards him. Eyes on that sweet, gentle, little paw, Nick barely could swallowed the last bite of chocolate. He took her paw, closing it in his own for a while, this time not wanting to let it go so quick.

"I-I know." Nick said shyly and a little breathlessly.

She gave him a quizzical look.

"You do? How?" she looked at her chest, a politely confused look on her dainty muzzle. "I don't have any shiny badge on my shirt."

Her smile was playful when she raised her eyes from her breast to his eyes.

Unable to stop himself, his eyes went to her chest, knowing there wouldn't be a badge there. But that didn't stop himself from from sweeping across her chest in a quick but thorough examination.

There was an awkward silence between them, since Nick didn't know how to answer to her question. But the need to provide one fell to the wayside when he looked up again. They were looking into each other eyes, paws still intertwined.

Finally, Nick felt sudden wave of shyness, and he set her paw free. He rubbed his neck, trying to figure out what it was he wanted to say. Before he decided to try her way of dodging the question from yesterday.

"Lucky guess?" he suggested, trying to look smug. Decided to take a page out of her book, he leaned forward to whisper his next statement to her. "Or maybe I can read minds?"

Judy recognized this as her own antics from the day before, and she laughed in delight.

"Oh, come on, Nick, tell me!" she said and gave the most beautiful and captivating look he have ever seen. Her eyes, big, shining, and purple, begged for the answer. The true answer.

Nick could lie to her. It was an option he was trying to debate with. And if it weren't for those damn eyes, it would have won.

_"She should work as a police officer."_ , he thought as he felt himself give in, _"Put her on interrogation. Those eyes could cause any robber to spill."_

Sighing, feeling totally enslaved, the truth won out.

"Listen..." he looked into her eyes for the last time, before deciding to turn his gaze to his feet. "Yesterday, when I came here, it wasn't to try one of your chocolates. I... I came here to check your seller's permit."

Judy's eyes widened as she gave him a quiet, "Oh..."

Nick continued, trying to extricate himself from all this topic in a smooth way. "But since you weren't selling anything, I-I didn't ask for it."

_"Not to mention, seeing you killed my brain",_ the fox thought to himself.

"A-and then my chief told me to come here today, to check if you started selling."

"I-I applied for it a month ago..." she explained, looking down at her own feet and kicking at the sidewalk. "I didn't get the permit yet, but I really needed to start selling. I need money to pay the rent. And, to be honest, I wasn't expecting the police to show up the first day I start selling... I know. Dumb." She laughed humorlessly, her posture crumpling. "But, as I've already told you... I'm just a dumb bunny."

Before he could scowl her for saying such things (again), she straightened herself, ready to face the consequences of selling without a permit. Though there was hint of sorrow in her eyes. It bothered the fox to no end.

"So. You are here to check my permit. And I don't have it." she said firmly, waiting for Nick to do what he was ordered to do.

"Actually..." Nick said, fishing the permit out of his pocket and passing it to her. "You do."

Judy's eyes widened, her muzzle falling open in shock. She grabbed the paper from his paw and read it quickly. Then she turned her gaze back to Nick.

"But... but how?"

That was another question Nick wasn't sure how to reply. So he didn't.

He was just staring at her, watching how her eyes were brightened as her smile grew wider and wider. But when she looked at him with those big purple eyes, he felt that he owned her some explanation. And as much as he wanted to (because he wanted to, so fucking much), Nick decide to not tell her what he did for her.

Of course, she would be grateful and all that.

But Nick was hoping that someday, someday, he would gather his courage to ask her out. And he didn't want her to agree to go out with him only because she was grateful. Even if it hurt him like there was no tomorrow, he decided to shorten his story from yesterday to just one statement.

"I-I am just passing it over to you." he explained with a shrug.

He could tell she wasn't convinced by this statement, like she knew he was withholding something. And the fact that he didn't elaborate how he knew who she was. But Judy didn't ask further.

Instead, she did something else.

Something that was more surprising than seeing her hug someone else.

She leaned towards the fox and enveloped him in a sweet, tender hug. Feeling the soft pressure from her body pressed against his, the world stopped.

Nick felt that even if his life ended in this moment, he would die totally happy. With her gentle paws on his back, with her smiling muzzle buried in his chest, and with her intoxicating smell in his nostrils. The smell of chocolate she was selling, the shampoo she must have washed her fur with, and the smell of this bunny, was something he was sure he would remember forever.

In the middle of Savanna Central, among all the mammals running around with their own agendas, and with the beautiful bunny holding him close, there was no place he would rather be in all his life.

She whispered into his uniform a soft and heart felt, "Thank you". Then she pulled back and the fox felt almost physical pain as her warm body moved away from him.

"I didn't know the police is connected to the city council. But seriously... Thank you for passing it on." She smiled shyly as her paws slid away from him and she took a step back. "Because you didn't have to."

She pulled on one of her ears, her eyes still filled with curiosity. And the look was so sweet, Nick made a note to himself to ask his doctor for a diabetes test at the next health check up.

As much as the concept of City Council co-operating with the police made him laughed, he didn't show it. He didn't even have time for it, because he was still in his own paradise.

"So... I won't get any fine now, will I?" she asked him.

He shook his head with a wide smile spreading across his face.

"You won't..." he said quietly, more to himself than to her, as he was internally celebrating his success.

_"You did it, Wilde! You fuckin' did it!"_ He mentally fist bumped himself.

She mirrored his smile as she turned back to her stall.

"So! I can get back to work." she said, and at this statement Nick's smile dropped. He shoved his paws into his pockets, and started his mental preparation to leave.

"Oh! Maybe you have some time to stay here with me?" she asked, and when Nick looked at her quizzically (and with a ray of hope in his eyes), she added quickly, "Standing here alone is kinda boring when there're no customers."

As if to prove her point, she looked around. Indeed, there was no-one who wanted to buy her chocolate since his arrival a few moments ago. Nick looked at her as his brain began a war.

_"She's asking me to spend time with her! Yay!"_  he thought, his mental self jumping up in down in triumph.

_"She's doing it because she is bored being alone."_ Came his cynical side.

_"How do you know?"_ came the challenge.  _"Maybe she really wants to spend time with me?"_

_"Ok. But even if you're right, you're working right now, aren't you?"_

_"Damn... need to figure something out!"_

And while he was arguing with himself, Nick felt his head bob.

"Sure."

A silly answer really, because Nick was supposed to be at work till three p.m. But Judy's offer was so tempting, Nick decided to change his schedule of the day a little.

Or, more than a little.

And any guilt he may have felt about it evaporated like morning dew as her face radiated joy.

Thankfully, a distraction came when an otter approached Judy's stall. Nick discretely pulled out the phone from his pocket and started typing:

"Hey Ben! Need 2 take the rest of the day off. Very important private issues. Will work it out 2night 4 the night shift." -  **Nicky**

He sent it and hoped that Bogo wouldn't mind him. During his full year of duty, the todd had never missed a day of work or cut a day short. And he knew that he had the right to do it ONCE a year.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. And now, it looked like it was a very desperate time.

His phone buzzed as he get the answer from Ben.

"Nick what's up? You need help or smthg?" -  **Spots**

"Don't worry, no big troubles here. Just need to do something that can't wait. Call you l8r." -  **Nicky**

The fox replied as quickly as he could, checking that Judy wasn't watching him. Satisfied the otter had her full attention (even if he was a bit jealous), he waited for Ben to get back to him. Which came a bit more quickly than Nick anticipated.

"Good luck with this 'something' ;). I'll shift you to night duty. But i'm sooo sorry you'll miss our go out this evening. Youre going to miss out on all the pretty things!"-  **Spots**

Nick read and re-read the message, before looking up towards the pretty bunny making her sale. With his heart beating faster, the message was closed and the phone shoved back in to his pocket. Watching Judy wave goodbye to the otter and now turning to him with a smile sweeter than any sweets could be, he found himself with only a final thought.

_"Oh, believe me, Ben, I won't..."_


	7. Helping

  
**A/N**  
Hello in chapter 7!  
Again, big thanks for my beloved editor, blueberryandhoney. You know how much I appreciate everything you do to this story! ^_^  
  
And again, thank you for all favs and comments!!!  
  
  
**Chapter 7**  
  
Nick and Judy were standing at the bunny's stall. Even having millions of questions to ask, Nick couldn't persuade himself to start talking. He was just standing there, enjoying the view.  
Which was of course the best of the best.  
Despite changing the color of her shirt from green to yellow, Judy was still faithful to her exposed shoulders style. And she still seemed to be sans bra. Tight brown skirt was the same as yesterday, and it was invariably  hugging her hips way too pleasantly to not admire them.  
  
Admire them discretely of course.  
As much as Nick would like to stare directly, he didn't want to behave like a creep. He also wasn't too sure if ogling her wouldn't cause his own pants to look suspicious. So he was catching some glimpses here and there. And when Judy finally stopped re-arranging her stall, she looked over at him, causing his heart to slam into his chest as she smiled. He looked straight into her eyes, to prevent being caught red-pawed with a lump in his slacks, and forgot the world for a moment.  
  
"Soo... you're done with your job for today?" she asked as she put the final touches on her Bunn-sickle display and moved closer to the fox officer.  
“Uhhmm... yeah! My shift just ended." Nick said brightly, grinning as she moved closer to where he stood.  
"And do you have any plans for your spare time?" she asked, moving to stand right in front of him.  
  
Nick wanted to say something cleaver and witty. He wanted to talk to her without blushing, stuttering, or discrediting himself. Seriously, he would be satisfied with just ONE coherent sentence.  
But looking into her beautiful eyes, he felt a knot of anxiety twist his guts. His throat was already squeezed tight because of her being so close. So close, he could smell her scent, inhaling deeply and unable to get enough.  
  
But how could he get her attention if he was acting like a speechless moron? How could he woo her without saying a word? There was no way an “I’m-just-staring-at-you-and-smiling-dumbly" guy would cause her to fall as hard for him as he fell for her.  
Acting like that could really upset his plan of conquering her heart. And acting like that may cause her to be put off by his strange behavior.  
She could start avoiding him, or one day she could report that some creepy fox, apparently a police officer, was staring at her from behind the bush nearby. And showing up wherever her booth was.  
  
So Nick made one of the hardest decisions in his life.  
He hid his fear and shyness deep in the back of his mind. His usual carefree attitude took over his mind and body.  
And he hoped it would be a good choice.  
  
Taking a deep breath before speaking, he let a smug grin curl his muzzle.  
”Well, now I do." He smiled pointing his chin at her, and she mirrored his expression. But realizing that maybe it sounded a bit improper, he added quickly. ”I wasn't planning anything anyway. You know, beside making sure that my couch is comfy enough. And that my cable is still working.“  
She laughed lightly at his little joke, and the fox's ego shot up seeing and hearing her sweet laughter again.  
And at that moment, it occurred to him that making her smile became his number one priority.  
It was something so clear and obvious to him he felt a bit uplifted by the realization. And he was ready to do it for the rest of his life.  
  
"My God... I fell hard..."  
  
He continued his antics to gain more laughs.  
"Hey, speaking of my couch, what did one couch say to the other couch on the other side of the room?"  
Nick waited for a while, and seeing her quizzical look, he answered.  
"We’re SOFA apart!"  
Judy burst into laugher, a warm feeling of delight forming in the pit of his stomach as the sound hit his ears. He basked in the sweet sound for a moment, before he joined her in her mirth.  
  
"That one was good. Flash would be proud of me", he thought to himself.  
  
Wiping tears of joy from her eyes, the bunny gave a final laughing sigh before shaking her head playfully at him.  
”Oh, Nick, that was SOFAnny!"  
With a snort, the gave a sharp bark of laughter.  
“Thanks, but I do know some that are BEDder!" he said with a smirk.  
"I BED you do!" Judy replied, and for a while both of them couldn't stop their hilarity.  
When their laughter started to fade, both of them inhaled deeply to calm themselves.  
  
"Add some jokes to your conversation, check! See? That's way better than just staring at her!" He thought with satisfaction.  
Though his eyes couldn’t stop themselves from moving to her again. He really could live a happy and full life just staring at her.  
  
"You know what, you’re a really articulate fellow!" she said smiling teasingly. “I never would have guessed after yesterday.”  
Nick felt a blush coming up to his muzzle, but before it got any stronger, he just shrugged.  
"Oh, I unwind slowly."  
She smiled at him, and then looked around.  
"Huh. So does my business, apparently. I really don't know what I'm doing wrong." she said, a little frown on her pretty muzzle.  
  
Nick had to agree that there were no customers crowding around.  
And despite his shock that every other male in Zootopia wasn’t here just to look at the beautiful bunny, he decided to investigate the case of Judy's stall being deserted.  
"Hey,” he began, “since you currently have a cop by your side, let's collect the evidence to find out why.”  
Judy gave him a look of surprise. “You...” she looked away, her ears dropping slightly, before she turned her big, purple eyes back to him shyly. “You’d do that for me?”  
“I’d do anything for yo...” he started to assure her quickly, before the blush he had been fighting returned full force. A smile, amazed smile curled her lips as he cringed at his over eager attitude. “...ur Bunn-sicles! I mean, you just went through all that trouble making these delicious chocolates, it’d be a shame if they went to waste.”  
  
"Uh, that was close."  
  
He cleared his throat to rid himself of the awkward tension between them. And with her expression of admiration making his heart beat much too fast, Nick took a pose of very serious detective, faking that he was smoking a pipe.  
"So... what we've got so far, my dear Hoppson?"  
She burst into laughter hearing her new name, shaking her head fondly at his ideas. But managed to composed herself and play along, making a very serious face and tapping her chin.  
"Let's see. First of all, we've got the seller's permit.” Judy said, looking at Nick meaningly.  
The fox laughed slightly and nodded his head.  
"That's right." he said "We've also got one fluffy seller.”  
"Hey!" she punched him playfully, pretending to be offended.  
"Ouch! Why?! I'm just presenting the facts!" he said chuckling a little and rubbing the spot on his ribs where she had gotten him.  
"Mhm, yeah...” she said, turning back to her thoughtful expression. "We've got the chocolates. And according to my previous tests on other mammals, and my own samplings, they taste good."  
Nick nodded in agreement.  
"Indeed, Hoppson, they do. Despite being shaped like a bunny after meeting with a guillotine." Nick snickered, and Judy started to laugh whole heartedly at that statement.  
"Oh, don't be like that!" she said through her laugher. "They look cute!"  
The todd nodded his head, trying to stay serious with his detective role."I must admit it to you. They do look cute. Creepy... but cute."  
  
This time, he dodged Judy's hit just in time. He laughed for a while, since Judy wasn't accepting defeat and still trying to punish the fox, at least a little bit, and Nick wasn't very willing to get punched again.  
Because she was stronger than he thought.  
  
Few moments later, they were standing seriously again, and since the stall seemed to not being a problem, they were looking around and analyzing the rest.  
"Price of my chocolates isn't that high, is it?" Judy asked.  
Nick shook his head, looking at the board with “2Z” written on it.  
"Nope. The price is ok." he said.  
Judy turned her paw around her stall and said:  
"And I choose this place because it provides a good access for potential customers."  
"Potential customers..." Nick repeated quietly, tapping his chin as a thoughts began to collocate in his brain. He looked around, and Judy's gaze followed, as they saw the mammals passing by on the pavement.  
Elephants. Hippos. Giraffes. Lots of giraffes. Then again the elephants, antelope, and a few lions.  
He looked around. Jimbeaux's Ice Cream Parlour, Large and Wide Tailors, Mammoth Bank, and other places  
entirely designed for the larger mammals.  
  
A revelation came to their minds in the same time.  
  
"Hoppson, do you think the same I think?" Nick asked, and Judy slowly nodded.  
"Yuuuup. Potential customers are so big..." she begun.  
"They can't even see your stall,” he completed.  
They looked at each other, and Nick continued, ”And even if they could see this..."  
"They wouldn't buy it, since it's too small for them to even feel the real flavor.” Judy finished with a groan, dropping her face into her paws. "That's the reason!"  
"Bingo!" Nick shouted, pointing a finger at her. "Elementary, my dear Hoppson." He nodded his head knowingly. "We're just standing in a wrong  
place."  
"Sweet cheese and crackers, why didn't I think about it before?" she asked rhetorically. Scrubbing her face with her paws she sniffed and looked up in defeat at the oversized mammals walking past her stall without a second glance.  
Nick, despite his heart melting at the cute curse she just used, looked at her with anxiety. The fox was beating himself for the same thing.  He had standing there for about a half hour now and that simple fact didn't occurred to him before.  
  
But probably having such a beautiful bunny by his side turned off his common sense a little bit. That seemed to be a hazard for him whenever she was around.  
  
"I really am a dumb bunny..." she murmured to herself, her gaze moving to the ground and her eyes filled with irritation.  
This time, Nick couldn't let her to deject herself further. Seeing that sweet, dainty muzzle twisted in self-depreciation was too much for him. Sadly, he watched as she rose a paw to her ear to give it an annoyed tug.  
  
Gathering all his courage, Nick stretched his paw in her direction and touch hers one to stop her from pulling the poor ear out..  
"Hey... don't say that." he said. Judy, feeling his touch and hearing his voice instantly stopped, and then looked at him. He draw back his paw, still looking into her eyes.  
"You’re not dumb! You’re new in the city, aren't you? So how could you know that it would be a bad location? It's me who should get it first, I’ve live here all my life!" Nick reasoned. "So if you are a dumb bunny, it makes me totally moron fox."  
Her eyes went wide at the insult, ears snapping up in alarm.  
"No, Nick, oh no, I didn't want it to sound like that!” she started to apologize him. "It's absolutely not your fault."  
  
He let out a light chuckle. She was so flustered that it was too sweet.  
"Hey, don't worry. It’s no-one's fault. And it doesn't matter when now we know what to do." Nick assured her, and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Let's just move somewhere else."  
Judy nodded, and started packing her stall, Nick only watching since he didn't really know how to help her. But when her stall was ready to move and she started pushing it forward, Nick came closer to the bunny. He delicately shooed her away and took the handle in his paws. When Judy looked at him quizzically, he shrugged and grinned.  
"Let the coppa here show some muscles, will ya?"  
She rolled her eyes and chuckled a little at his wording.  
"What a gentlefox! Thanks.”  
  
She followed beside him for a bit, her paws behind her back.  
"Soo...” she started, looking up at him with a little smile, “Where are we going?"  
Nick smiled at her, excited to get to their destination.  
"Not SOFA from here." He winked at her as she chuckled. "But I think that we could TRAY it there. We'll get the in a NICK of time."  
Judy laughed harder at that.  
"Nick, I'll ask just in case, but is there any switch on you that can turn off the puns generator in your head?"  
He laughed and nodded.  
"Yup! There's a switch behind my left ear." Nick looked her up and down, "But since you are too small to reach it, I might be..." Nick paused for a while to give a dramatic silence, "...punstoppable!"  
  
///  
  
"Ok, here we are." said Nick, stopping the stroller a few meters from the Lemming Brothers Bank.  
Judy looked around.  
"Err... ok, Nick, but I can't see any mammal here. Are you s-“ Judy was stopped by the large clock across the street, belting out two loud gongs.  
Two P.M.  
"Quick, pack it out!” Nick said, and Judy quickly did what he ordered.  
Instantly, there was a line of bank workers, lemmings, who were heading out for their lunch break.  
Judy's gaze went to Nick as he started shouting.  
"Bunn-sicles! Get your bunn-sicles! Great dessert after your lunch!"  
In a moment, one of the lemmings noticed a stall, and turned towards it, his round ears perked towards the shouting fox. His beady eyes were lit up on the treat the bunny held out. And, to her surprise, the rest of the lemmings, marching in a line after him, followed.  
Judy's eyes went wide at the sight. She quickly prepared herself for a group sell.  
  
Nick watched from a few meters away as the lemmings, one after another, pulled their money from their pockets (how could they keep it there anyway?) and exchanging them for the chocolate popsicles from Judy.  
Quickly.  
Very quickly.  
So quickly, she didn't even have time to smile to her customers. Nick from his distance could only hear her "thankyouthankyouthankyou" rattling like a shotgun.  
  
As quickly as they appeared, they were gone.  
Judy was breathing quickly from the sudden onslaught of customers, her eyes wide as she tried to process what had just happened. She looked at Nick, panting and not saying a word.  
"Ah, you'll get used to it after a few times,” he shouted to her, smug smile plastered to his face.  
In a moment, Judy recovered from her shock, closed her mouth and looked at him with a blank expression, ears low. It planted a little seed of uneasiness and he felt sudden knot in his stomach.  
The unease grew as she started to make her way to him.  
But midway, she quickened her steps and started running.  
  
His eyes went wide as his ears flattened on his head at the sight of gray missile was aiming him.  
But even if Nick was unsure if she was going to kill him or hug him, he decided to just stay there and wait.  
  
"Both options are ok, at least she’s going to touch me", he thought, before closing his eyes, he threw out his arms, and prepared himself for anything what was coming.  
  
  
  
P.S. Did you catch the reference to Nirlock and Hoppson? Yup, I like it ;)


	8. Tasting

**A/N** Hellooooo! Welcome in another chapter.:)  
Thank you for all good words you're writing to me! I just can't get enough.:) I love to read your comments and know what you think.  
As usual, big thanks to my great editor **blueberryandhoney** , for all good things she's doing to this story. Beside correcting all my mistakes (since my main language is polish), she always adds some magic to all I write. Really, she's great, check up her stories!  
If anyone of you want to add something to this story, or you've got some ideas which would suit here, feel free to pm me or write a comment.

**Chapter 8**

  
Nick felt as though his heart would beat out of his chest when the gray missile struck him, almost knocking the fox on his tail. Feeling the impact, he grabbed the bunny by reflex. Clutching her to his chest, holding her close, his brain slowly registering her warmth. High off her embrace, he spun her around, trying to regain the balance her very presence had disrupted. A futile mission it seemed, one he wasn’t crazy about, as he found himself minding less and less that she had him completely thrown.  
When he was finally still, he opened his eyes to see that she was indeed hugging him. Judy was in his arms, squeezing him in a tight embrace. Her face was alight with pure joy, eyes squeezed shut with happiness, and her nose buried in his neck.  
"Oh Nick, you’re a genius!" she exclaimed, still around him. "I've neversold so many chocolates at once! Even during the Carrot Day Festival!"

Having that beautiful bunny so close, feeling her pull back slightly so her cheek brushed his muzzle, felt too good. Her paws on his back and her legs squeezed around his waist almost had him fainting. Dimly, he made a mental note to get his heart check. Surly this rapid pace wasn’t healthy.  
And if he was feeling the butterflies in his stomach when she was hugging him the first time, this time the little creatures were surely flying out of his ears.

  
After a while, Judy slowly pulled back far enough to look him straight into the eyes. And Nick almost completely lost himself and kiss her, because her eyes were big, sparkling, and so beautiful. With the way she just smiled up at him all he think of was if it’d be worth stealing just one little kiss.  
“Uh-oh, I'm crumpling your uniform, aren't I?" Her ears tinted red as she dropped her gaze to his chest.  
Jumping off of him her paws reached up to start smoothing the fabric on his chest with a quick moves.  
There was nothing he could care less about than his uniform at that moment. But he didn't stop her, because he was still drugged by her closeness. And because she was still touching him.

She finished her little paw-ironing and was looking at him with hereyes full of glee and her ears straight with excitement. The todd finally came back to Earth. And when the ‘smug Nick’ took charge (although pantingand puffing, gosh, it was almost too much even for his perky attitude), he asked about what she said earlier.  
"Carrot Day Festival?"  
Her ears dropped as she chuckled, a little embarrassed.  
"Haha... yeah, um... In my hometown, BunnyBurrow, we have this kind of celebration after the harvest period." she explained, fidgeting with her paws.  
Nick smiled fondly.

  
_"Rabbits celebrating their favorite vegetable at the festival? That’s too cute!"_

  
"Anyway... I'm out of chocolates, so I'm free for now. Maybe we could go to Snarlbucks for some coffee?" she asked, smiling shyly. "My treat. I know that won't be enough for your help, but it's all I can afford right now."  
His eyes went wide as he couldn't believe his ears.  
_"She’s asking me out!!! She is asking me out!!!"_ His entire brain was on over drive with celebrating.  
Well, most of his brain.  
_"Calm down, fox. She’s doing this because she wants to repay you for your help, Super Hero"_ , the voice (which must have been his rational part of the brain) said mockingly.  
_"Agghh! Why you always have to drag me down?! She is asking me out!!! And she hugged me!!!"_  
_"Don't want to burst your bubble, but she did it, because..."_  
_"Ohh, SHUT UP!"_  
_"NO, YOU SHUT UP!"_

  
Nick shook his head to stop his internal fight.  
"I-I'd lo-like that!” he agreed and smiled at her, and she smiled at him.  
And for a few moments, that was all either of them did.  
Judy was first to break the (not so awkward) silence.  
"Oh, I'll pack my stall!" A paw brushed over her ears as she hopped to it, breaking equipment down and putting her gear away.  
"And then I'll again knock you out with the presence of my strength!” he said following her, his smugness back in place.  
Judy chuckled at this, waving her paw.  
"Oh, I managed to keep my sanity when I saw it for the first time,” she turned to quirk her eyebrows at him, “so I’m sure I’ll stop myself from swooning this time, too!"  
Nick looked at her, pretending an offended face, as he put the back of his paw to his forehead.  
"Oh, almost a year of conditioning my body at the police academy, and it's all for nothing! Not even one single sigh from a charmed lady!" he cried dramatically.  
Judy chuckled at his antics as she continued packing her stall into the stroller.  
“Well...” she said, shaking her head and looking up at him coyly. “I guess one little sigh won't kill me".  
"Yes!" Nick pumped his fist into the air, but then he looked back at her, his muzzle serious. "But we’ll pretend that it's NOT lighter than before, ok?"  
“Whatever you say, Officer Wilde.” Judy said with a grin.

 

///

 

Their walk to Snarlbucks was smooth. Nick had gotten exactly what he wanted. As they started journey, Judy gave him the most delightful gaze. Full of admiration, as she inhaled deeply and give out a content sigh. He was pushing the cart nonchalantly while his ego was reaching the sky, when the bunny sighed a second time.  
Then third and fourth.  
"Ohhhh, Officer, you are SOOOOOO HELPFUL!" the bunny finally said, batting her eyes at him. "Sweet cheese and crackers, what AMAZING strength!”  
With a snort of laughter, he looked over at the bunny. But she just grinned wider and continued to shower him with compliments.  
“You know, you’re milking it.” he said and they both share a mirthful laugh.

 

///

 

They were sitting at a table outside of Snarlbucks, enjoying each other’s company. Judy bought two big lattes for them. Nick wasn't sure if another coffee this late in the day would be a good idea, since he already had four earlier. But he decided that even if his heart would stopped, it probably would be Judy who would do the resuscitation. And that was ok to him.  
So he accepted the drink Judy gave him. He looked between the mugs and saw that her’s was sprinkled with something. Flecks of orange dotted the foam on top of the hot drink. His gaze lingered a bit too long for Judy to not notice it. She looked at him quizzically before she understood what the fox was staring at.  
"Errr... I supposed you don't like carrot topping?" she asked smiling and holding her cup out to him.  
"They have carrot topping? Yuck." Nick grimaced at the thought, sticking his tongue out. “Bleh!”  
Judy looked offended, but the corners of her mouth betrayed her, as they curled a little seeing Nick like this.  
"Yuck? Bleh? How DARE you! Have you ever tasted it?" she challenged.  
He quickly shook his as his stomach did a backflip at the thought.  
"No way! I'm not into adding VEGETABLES to my coffee!" Nick said, with his tongue still out, muffling his words. Judy shook her head when she figured out what he had said.  
“Oh come on, you big baby! First, it's not raw carrots we’re talking about. It’s caramelized. And second, you really should try this. You might be surprised.” she said, trying to convince him.  
Nick’s tongue darted back into his mouth, both of his paws clamping over his muzzle. He felt confident he closed off access for anything the crazy rabbit claiming vegetables and coffee is equal to ANYTHING tasty. She was really wonderful and absolutely amazing, but even HE had his limits.  
He shook his head with wide eyes.  
”M-mh!"  
Judy rolled her eyes.  
"Just try a bit! If you don't like it, you can spit it out and I swear I won't think you’re gross.”  
"M-mh!!!"  
"But it's tasty! Yum, yum, Nick!" she said in exasperation, waving the drink in front of him.  
"M-MH!!!" He shook his head frantically, turning his nose up.  
She tried a few different tactics, asking and threatening him in turns. But his answer was still the same. Though he did add some gaging to underline his stance.  
Finally, she sighed deeply, shaking her head.  
"Are you always this stubborn, or would pressing a little harder do the job?" she asked, wagging her eyebrows.

  
And it was that look that did the job, to be honest. Nick's heart was pounding as the thought of what she meant by "pressing harder" started rooting in his mind. Not to mention that fact that he was salivating at the implication. But Nick pretended that his resolve was hard like a stone.  
Among other things.  
It went without saying that all of her "Ahh, come on!", "Nick, are you five orsomething?" and "You are worse than a baby!" was incredibly sweet. And her comments of "Oh, Nick, just open your mouth!" and "Geez, please, just lick it!" was doing strangely pleasant things below of his belt.  
Suddenly, an idea dawned on him.  
He took his paws from his muzzle and held up a finger to get her attention.  
"OK, I'll try it under one condition..." and seeing her eyes going wide from excitement, he decided to add something what just occurred in his now-much-braver mind, "...Carrots."  
Her smile vanished instantly, as her mouth opened in a slight shock.  
"What did you call me?” she asked dangerously.  
In a trice, Nick realized that maybe it was a little too brave.  
"Err... Carrots?" he repeated as an apologetic smile slowly curling his muzzle, withhis voice high and quiet.  
Judy gave him a grave look before continuing.  
"You're gonna wanna refrain from calling me 'Carrots'."

  
And in that moment, Nick thought he really fucked up. But he was saved when he noticed that the corners of the bunny's mouth was curling up a little, betraying her again.  
She found it at least a little bit funny.  
"Oh, so I should risk my stomach getting upset, and not get anything in return?" He asked with a smug smile.  
She was sending him a stormy gaze for a while, before she sighed in resignation and nodded her head.  
"OK then..." she agreed. "But only for today! Gosh, where are you getting these NICKnames?"  
Then she pushed her coffee in his direction. He reached for his spoon, with his paw theatrically shaking. A small amount of cream with a tiny bit of carrot topping was scooped up.

Laughing, she reached over to grasped his paw and pulled it deeper into the cream. Finally his spoon was almost only carrot crisps.  
"For calling me Carrots, you have to eat a whole spoonful!” she said smugly.  
Nick didn't protest, enchanted by her touch. So he took the spoon and looked at it with the terror in his eyes as he brought it closer to his muzzle. Before tasting the frightening toping, he managed to cross himself, gaining another eye roll from Judy. Finally he shoved the spoon into his mouth, closing is eyes, and preparing himself for the worst.

  
The sweet flavor hit his tongue as he was crushing the little carrot bits with his teeth.  
_"Hmm... Carrots with sugar. Strange, but quite nice actually..." he thought as he started to savor the odd combination. "But I wonder how the another Carrots tastes... Oh, she must be sweeter that anything I've ever tasted. If I could only try a little bit of her. Just for a while. Only want a small taste... Just to know how if she’s as sweet as these carrots. First, I'd lick her lips, softly, to get access. Then, when she opens her little, pink mouth, I'd delicately slip my tongue into her, curl it around hers..."_

  
"How is it?" Judy couldn't wait for a verdict.  
Nick was drastically dragged out from his fantasies to the object of his desire, who was now looking at him expectantly.  
"For the fox's sake, brain! Could you stop acting like a pervert at least when she is around?" he scolded himself as he swallowed.  
"Oh, come on!" she pressed, her eyes wide with curiosity. "You liked it! Your wide smile told me you liked it!" She crossed her arms and leaned back, self content.  
_"Oh, I hope it doesn't tell you too much..."_ Nick though to himself, thanking God that he was sitting and he could hide everything what would really show Judy how MUCH he liked it...  
"Err..." he cleared his throat to compose himself. "Ok. I survived. But, to be honest, I know some things that could be more tasty." And before his brain could stop him, he continued. "For example your lips."

When the words left his mouth, and reached his ears, Nick felt that his heart stopped. Green eyes went wide when he realized what he has just said. His brain was working at the maximum speed to think up something, ANYTHING, whatcould cover his outburst.  
"I-I said l-lips?" He sputtered, feeling the blush covering all of his body. "Of course I meant... sweets! Your sweets! They’re of course so much better!"  
_"OK, nice try. Keep going and she’ll buy it",_ Nick thought, and continued his story.  
"I-I said lips... because I was watching your lips!"  
_"Aaand now you fucked up..."_  
"...b-because you were talking to me! Not that I was staring or something! Even if you have a nice lips..."  
_"Great, Nick, dig your grave deeper."_  
"I-I errr... hey, do you know that joke about...?" Nick said, trying to changethe topic, but Judy's laugh stopped him midway. She was utterly happy listening his explanations.  
"Hahaha, Nick, you're such a dork." She said as her sweet laugher began to fade. "Simple blunder. I get what you mean. Gosh, why are you so flustered? It's just me!"

  
Nick's eye twitched.  
_"Yup, Carrots, like you being JUST you isn’t what causes me to act like that I've got my brain removed", Nick thought. "Because it's not true that day I saw you is a day I'll never forget. And it's not like every second I spend with you I'm falling harder and harder. Because you, despite being stunning from the tips of your ears to your toes, are the epitome of sweet, funny and totally enchanting. And, oh lucky me! I surely don’t have any spicy thoughts connected with your sexy body..._  
_Oh, wait."_

Looking at her for a while, Nick couldn't believe how calm she was.  
So relaxed and collected, sitting next to him and smiling. Totally opposite of Nick, who felt and acted like a mess from the very beginning of their acquaintanceship. Even now, his strange behavior didn't seem to bother her; she didn't look like she wanted to leave, or at least move a few seats further from him just in case.  
She was sitting comfortably, almost knee to knee with a virtual stranger, accepting Nick just the way he was, even when he was acted like a dullard.

And he couldn't help himself from hoping that maybe, just maybe it's because she really liked him.  
And that asking him to coffee wasn't just a simple repaying for the favor.


	9. Storytelling

**A/N** Hello in chapter 9.:) It's coming out later than I planned, but it's a little bit longer than usual.

Thank you for all your comments, I really love to read what you think so far, everytime I get notification about fav or review I'm soooooo happy.:)

As usual, biiiiiig thanks to **blueberryandhoney** , my beloved editor.:)

**Chapter 9**

_"You've got that power over me, my my,_

_everything I hold dear resides in those eyes"_

 

_///_

Some moments after Nick's brain stopped sneering at him _("Aaaaaaand this_ _year's reward for the most cringing moment with the crush goes tooo.._ _. N_ _icholas Wilde! Bravo!"),_ the fox finally relaxed. Especially seeing the calm bunny sitting next to him. Judy completely moved on from his previous outburst. Now she was watching a group of little shrews at the table nearby were squeaking in excitement, pulling out items from shopping bags and showing them off. One little female with a tower of well styled hair held up an outlandish pair bottoms as her friends gushed.

Nick, with his smugness back in place, followed her gaze and smiled at the sight.

"Leopard print jeggings, huh?" he mused as he watched the shrew hug her find before stuffing them back into the Mousey's bag. "Must look interesting when a leopard wears it."

Judy snorted into her coffee.

"Oh, Nick, you are so bad!" she said, nudging his arm delicately with her elbow.

"Hey, I'm just saying!" came his response, chuckling. But that reminded Nick of something, so he leaned his head closer to her.

"About that- did you know that in Zootopia there's a place where mammals actually wears nothing but their fur?" he asked, carefully studying her reaction.

Eyes widened in shock as she stared back at him.

"R-really?" She gave another glance to the shrews, as making sure they weren't eves dropping. "Like, nothing-nothing?"

"Yup." He nodded and leaned back into his chair, "Its called a naturalist club."

"Ooh!" Judy beaconed him to move closer, grinning and giving him a teasing look when he obeyed. "And you know this place, because you're a secret member?"

She wagged her eyebrows at him. Nick ears lowered, feeling the blush creeping onto his muzzle as he sat straight.

"N-no! I-I'm just giving you this as a tid-bit!" he denied. Laughing in delight at Nick bluster, the bunny clapped her paws joyfully.

"Oh, yeah?" Judy challenged through her giggle. "So how do you know about it?"

Nick shrugged, hoping that she wouldn't see exactly how flustered he was.

_"_ _Why the hell did I bring up_ _ **this**_ _topic?_ _"_ he scolded himself.

"Everybody know about it." Nick explained matter of factly. "In Zootopia, anyone can be anything. And those guys… they be naked."

Judy shook her head and snorted.

"Huh. So with all Zootopia attractions, this one I am going to have to pass on…"

And despite Nick understanding her decision, he felt slightly disappointed. He really wouldn't mind showing her the place, even if he has never been there before. Though, to be honest, he never planned to change that. But something told him that rule could be worked around if she happened to change her mind. She would need a tour guide, after. And moral support.

LOTS and lots of… moral… support.

_"_ _Stop it, Wilde_ _!"_ _,_ he scolded again as his tail started to wag behind him.

"...Buuuut, I wouldn't mind someone showing me some other places here in the city…" she added shyly, a smile curving her muzzle as she looked at him. And when the words registered in Nick's brain, his eyes widened.

Judy seemed to be a little unsettled by his reaction.

"Err... in your spare time of course!" came the rushed addendum. "I-I know there's a lot of places to see. It's such a beautiful city..." she continued, playing with a long, drooped ear. "I-I know that it might be a little too forward, b-but since you know the city..."

Then Judy gave a small sigh and a sad look of disappointment. "Seems like I'm using your help a bit too much, huh?"

Bunny's question was lost on Nick. At her words, his brain stopped functioning. Everything went on auto pilot as both sides examined her words from every possible angle. And, as was unfortunately common lately where Judy was concerned, there was a disagreement about their meaning.

_"_ _Did she just... did she just asked me out?_ _"_

_"_ _Yeah, as a guide-tour._ _"_

_"_ _Fuck off, brain, she just asked me out!_ _"_

His heart was pounding like crazy.

But Judy couldn't know it. Apparently, she was thinking something completely different, suddenly flustered. While he was distracted with her request, she had pushed herself away from him. Her nearly empty mug in her paws, she focused on its contents, swirling them around as she gave a small growl of frustration.

"It's okay," she said softly, not looking at him. "Forget I said anything. You just did something absolutely amazing for me, and all I can give you back is a stupid coffee. And now I'm asking you to be my guide-tour." She shook her head, ears down, her eyes full of self deprecation. "I'm sorry I'm such a bother."

At this statement, both side of his brain stopped arguing. Snapping back to reality Nick looked at her in disbelief. There she was, beating herself up for suggesting the very thing he wanted most (that wouldn't get him slapped or worse). All his internal conflicts about asking her out were all for naught. She wanted, at the very least, to see him again. He couldn't proceed the thought, the glimmer of trouble it could cause was enticing.

Because she definitely was the kind of trouble he knew he wanted to get into.

"Quick, tell her something! We're loosing her, tell her something", both sides of Nick's brain urged.

It was more than a little difficult to make up a proper words. But seeing the beautiful bunny like that, Nick decided he didn't have time for this. So he just said what was first on his tongue.

"Don't."

Judy looked at him, taken aback, with her eyes wide. "Don't say things like that," he commanded gently, with a small smile, "I forbid you. Especially when I'm more than willing to help you..." Feeling that it might have sounded a bit suspicious, he added, "…since you don't have anyone to take you round."

That made Judy's eyes round and shining.

"R-really?" She asked as her muzzle was graced with a sweet smile."You'd do that for me?"

Nick was completely melted seeing her so happy to spend time with him.

_"_ _Bunny, I'd do everything for you. And more…_ _"_

This thought was a dangerous one. But he was extra careful to not let this slip from his brain to his mouth. So he just nodded, smiling happily at her, as she met his look with one of her own.

And, for a while, it was all that both of them needed.

But all good things must come to an end. Judy broke the moment, clearing her throat and looking away, though her smile didn't fade.

"Err..." she touched the back of her neck, looking a bit shy, before taking the final sip of her coffee.

_"_ _Is she blushing?_ _"_ Nick thought to himself, seeing the inside of her ears turning pink. Or maybe it was only a delusion?

_"_ _No way, Nick, stop imagining things!_ _"_

He felt his heart leap when she turned back to him, catching the faintest glimpse of pink tinged ears as they fell down her back.

"…So tell me more about Zootopia." she asked, her previous, happy self returning. "How is it living in a big city? Beside having the naturalist club around." She winked at him.

"Well..." he began, trying to bring his usual smugness back, "Generally, it's quite crowded."

Judy laughed at that and waved a paw dismissively.

"Oh, I know a thing or two about crowded." When Nick looked at her quizzically, she explained, "I've got 275 siblings... by now." His jaw dropped, causing Judy to shrugged. "Multiplying, remember?"

Nick couldn't process the thought. Despite being a male, he knew that giving birth wasn't anything that could qualify as a pleasure. So all he could say was,

"I… I respect your mother."

"I know right?" she chuckled lightly "I really don't know how she did it." She shook her head, and went back to their main topic. "But beside it being crowded, what is it like to live here? To be honest, I hope to stay here for a while".

_"_ _For a while? Oh dear God in heaven, make her stay here_ _forever_ _!"_ Nick prayed, suddenly realizing that he couldn't survive any minute without her being close.

Because, even if his dreams wouldn't come true, and Judy never feels the same way he felt, they could always stay friends. Like now, right?

Sitting and drinking coffee together when they would meet up from time to time. Letting her infect him with her cheerfulness. Drugging himself with her beautiful presence. Stare into those enchanting, purple eyes. Telling her jokes to hear her sweet laugh. And she would laugh, whether they were bad or not.

Then, in the evenings, he could dream about what would never happen. Feeling calm that the next day, he could repeat the process. Feeling happy that there was someone like her. Even if she wasn't with him, she would be by his side.

As long as she lived here, in Zootopia, all of these things could happen.

_"And f_ _or how long_ _would it be enough...?"_ came that devious whisper from darker part of his mind.

Suddenly, Nick realized that she asked about living in Zootopia, and he didn't answer, fully drown in his thoughts. Fortunately, it looked like he was wondering how to reply her, so she was sitting beside him, patiently waiting for him to speak.

"Err..." Nervously, he cleared his throat (and mind). "Generally, the city's really liberal. Like I said, here in Zootopia 'anyone can be anything'. So usually there are no barriers someone couldn't HOPPS." Nick tipped a wink at her.

"Har har!" Her eyes rolled as she nudged him with a smile.

"Seriously, look at me! 'Foxy the Copsie'!" He ran his paw along his body. "Who would have thought? And here I am." He puffed out his chest proudly. "Despite all the obstacles I met."

Her ears perked up at that as she looked at him curiously.

"Obstacles? What kind?" she asked, tilting her head and furrowing her brows.

Nick's muzzle tighten a little, memories from the past coming back to him.

And non of them were good.

"Err..." he wasn't sure how to begin. And if he really wanted to do so. But then he looked at Judy, her eyes wide open as her muzzle lost any trace of smile, probably feeling that now it wasn't the time for any joke or pun. So he decided to tell her a piece of his story, just a little bit.

"Well, you see. I'm 'a fox', " he began, making quotes mark with his paws. "You think 'a fox', and what is the first thought that appears?"

"You." Judy said simply with a wide smile, as she tapped the badge on his chest with her claw.

That completely cut all the story he prepared in his mind.

_"_ _You_ _.._ _._ _"_

_".._ _.You._ _"_

_"_ _When she thinks about 'a fox', she thinks about me…_ _ME!_ _"_ The fox couldn't believe his ears.

_"_ _She didn't say shifty, untrustworthy, shady, conniving. No._

_She said 'you', tapping my badge, like she was thinking something_ _completely opposite."_

Nick looked at her, still feeling stricken by just one word.

Carrots here, pure like a tear, seems to be completely oblivious to all the common fox-agnomens. Nick had to summon all his strength to not give the bunny the biggest hug he could. She was just too good.

And for a while Nick had a terrifying thought, that maybe she was too good, because she wasn't real.

_"_ _Maybe all that is not happening? Maybe I'm dreaming, talking in my sleep_ _with my bedside table?"_

He felt the nagging pressure to check if she isn't just an illusion, and it was just too strong to ignore it. So he brought a smug smile to his muzzle and playfully tapped her at the nose, just like she did to his badge.

And that sweet pink nose twitched at the touch.

And melted Nick's heart again.

_"So i_ _t's not a dream!_ _"_ Nick was internally jumping from joy. _"_ _She_ _is_ _real!_ _"_

He managed to pull himself together.

"Oh, Carrots, you are so pure..." he smiled, still couldn't believe that she had never heard anything about his species. "You really don't link foxes to anything err... shady?"

"Well, to be honest, I knew one fox who wasn't as nice as you." She answered looking away thoughtfully. Nick, once again, had to summon all his strength to not drown in the complement and pay attention. "There was a bully when I was kid. But he was a jerk who just happened to be a fox. I know plenty of bunnies who are jerks, too." Those beautiful purple eyes turned back to hime with a soft smile. "I don't link it to the species."

Nick smiled widely. This girl was just amazing.

"I wish everybody thought like you, Carrots. I mean, that a fox is just a fox. Here... it's not like that." He sighed. "In Zootopia, anyone can be anything. But also, anyone can think, and say, whatever they want. And believe me, mammals here know about it, and they use their right." Nick shrugged before picking up his own mug. "It's a free city."

Her eyes were focused on him intensely, her ears high as a confused frown started to form.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

"They just... they don't trust me. Me, my mother, let's say that mammals here generally don't like foxes." Nick explained.

"Nick, it's so speciest!" Judy shouted in disbelief. But then she lowered her voice. "I thought that Zootopia is more open-minded."

"They are open minded. To a point." he said quietly. "Some things simply haven't changed yet. But that's the reason why I am what I am." Nick puffed out his chest again. "To make the world a better place. To show that a fox doesn't have to be some shady creature."

Judy looked at him fondly, and Nick felt his heart melt again.

"Your mum must be proud of you." she stated, and Nick nodded, as it was true.

"She is. You should have seen her at my graduation, she was crying so hard." Nick smiled, bringing back the memory in his head. "I think she couldn't believe that it was happening, till that moment." He lowered his voice to a whisper, speaking more to himself than to her. "She was so sure they broke me."

For a moment, he forgot she was there, getting lost in the past.

It was the muffled sound of her ears snapping up so forcefully, it made his own ache that brought him out of his revery.

"Broke you?" she asked, her eyes full of worry. "Who?"

Nick planned to stop his story a sentence ago. But since his brain and tongue had their own plans for the last few hours (well, really days), the last one just slipped out. And he didn't know what to do next.

He never told anyone about it, beside his mother and Finnick. Others didn't need to know. He thought he buried this thing down a long time ago, and managed to live above it. Prove that it wasn't what defined him. And that it didn't hurt him anymore to think about it. That's what he thought.

So why the hell did he feel that sting of pain now?

Judy seemingly noticed that this topic didn't lay well with the fox. She lowered her ears as she moved away from him. Apparently while he was talking, she scooted herself closer and closer, listening intently.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy." Her soft apology tugged at his heartstrings.

Nick looked at her muzzle, watching as she nervously biting her mouth, trying to not look at him.

She was sorry, again. And there was not even a bit of her fault here.

Nick couldn't take his eyes off her. This pretty bunny, so kind and understanding, was now sitting beside him with a frown on

her muzzle. Just because he couldn't let this particular shit die in the past, like he should have done a long time ago.

_"_ _And here you are, Wilde, with your resolve to make her smile to the end of_ _your life._ _"_ His brain was beating the fox up.

"Hey!" Nick began. "You're not nosy. I brought it up. And I'll tell you under one condition."

"New nickname?" Judy suggested, smiling wryly.

"Tempting, but no." He chuckled. "I'll tell you about it, but I'll do it once, since I don't really like this particular subject, and afterwards we won't come back to this again." Nick said, because he really felt that he could tell her all that, and he would find understanding in her.

Judy simply nodded her head, and Nick was ready to began his story.

"I think I was eight... or maybe nine, and all I wanted to do was join the Junior Ranger Scouts. So, my mom scraped together enough money to buy me a brand new uniform. Because, by God, I was gonna fit in. Even if I was the only predator in the troop - the only fox."

The memory of him, small and innocent, standing in front of the mirror in the hallway of his childhood home, puffing out his chest in his scouts uniform, came back to him. He remembered how official and important he felt wearing it. And his mum paws, tickling him to bring her son's usual joyful expression back. He even remembered her wiping a single tear from her eye when she thought he wasn't looking.

"She was so proud seeing me like that. When the day of my scout meeting had come, she asked a hundred times if I knew where it was. Which of course I knew. I had walked by that scout's den everyday on my way to and from school. She even wanted to take me, and I was like 'Mum, come on, I'm a big todd now!' " He smiled at the memory. But then his smile vanished, and something dark appeared in his eyes. Sorrow.

"I was so happy to get there, I was taking those steps two at a time..." Nick shook his head. "And that was my last happy moment from that day."

Judy was looking at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She already knew there wasn't a happy ending in this story. Again, she moved closer to Nick, not even noticing. And he didn't notice it, either, deep into his memories.

"When I entered the room, as I expected, there were no other foxes there. There weren't even any other predators. They told me to raise my paw for the oath. I spent days memorizing that oath. I practiced it every chance I could." He lowered his eyes to the table and focused on the coffee mug. "They never let me finish it. They stopped me halfway through. Said that if I thought they would ever trust a predator without a muzzle, I was even dumber than they thought. Next thing I know, they're holding me down and strapping a muzzle on me…"

Judy put both her paws to her mouth in shock. In a moment she started to blink rapidly to hold her tears in. But she didn't say anything. Or maybe she couldn't find the proper words.

Nick still wasn't looking at her, his gaze glued to his own paws on the table.

"That broke me for a while." He sighed. "For a long while, to be honest."

Then he looked up at her and smiled sadly, but seeing her muzzle twisted in a sadness and her shaking chin as well, his smiled vanished.

"Hey!" he said quickly. "Don't be like that. I didn't mean to upset you!"

But his words did nothing to cheer her up as she sniffed a little. "Oh, Carrots..." He smiled fondly, and, almost instinctually, he reached out two fingers to turn the corners of her lips from down to up. She chuckled a little at this, shaking his paws off. Though one little tear fell from her eye, which she quickly wiped away with the back of her paw.

"It's not that sad story." he reassured her. "It was rough experience, yes, but some time later, it was quite empowering. I got the strength to go further. To show them that I could be more than they thought. They thought I would give into who they labeled me as. That I would give into my species stereotype. But I knew that if the world's going to see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in being anything like this and prove them right. Bacause they're not right. I made sure of that."

He finished with a nod. And it felt good.

God, it felt really good to open up a little and tell her how he felt. He looked at her to see if his words somehow comfort the poor, emotional bunny. When he did, he met her fond, teary gaze. But she smiled at him through the tears, and he mirrored her expression. And then he felt the touch. She had moved her paw on the table towards his bigger one, and intertwined their fingers in a firm squeeze.

"I'm glad you told me, Nick." she said. "You are so much more than this."

The moment was perfect.

Nick sank into her eyes, so big with emotion and shining with tears. No more words needed to be spoken.

And when the moment passed, and they looked at their paws still intertwined, none of them dared to break their touch.

And neither of them wanted to, anyway.


	10. Realising

**A/N** Hello! :) Welcome to another chapter.

As always, big thanks to **blueberryandhoney** for making all this story so much better.

Thank you for all your favs, follows, comments. I love to hear what you think.:)

 

**Chapter 10**

There were few moments in Nick's life that felt like perfection. When he put on his scout uniform, was one.

And then there was the time he found a twenty in a pair of pants he never wore.

Not to mention the time he managed to snag front row seats to his favorite band and the guitarist grinned and winked at him before tossing his pick to the todd.

This moment, however... Nick couldn't believe what was happening. He was still looking at the bunny, feeling his heart hammering in his chest, threatening to break his ribs. And even if he suspected that a heart attack is around the corner, he really didn't care much. There were only those beautiful, purple eyes, and this little, warm paw of hers.

She was what really counted. This was the definition of perfection and he wanted it to last forever.

 

But it couldn't, of course.

Judy was first to break their touch. But before she did it, she pulled his paw to her cheek and delicately nuzzled it to comfort him.

And oh God, how this comforted him; she had no idea.

Probably if he wasn't so stunned, he would cup her cheek in his paw and never let go. He could live the rest of his life like this, stroking her velvety soft face. What wonderful life that would be.

But instead, he was only watching with wide eyes, speechless.

All too soon, she lowered his paw back to the table, since Nick's body was totally limp and enslaved. Giving him one last squeeze, she withdraw her own.

The fox felt a painful mixture of cold where her touch vanished, and burning hot right where her cheek brushed him. Then she rested her elbows on the table, her chin in her paws, as she gave him a beautiful, fond smile, still not saying a word.

Meanwhile, Nick was trying to process what had happened. This moment, which he was sure was embossed in his brain and heart, felt so surreal. It would stay with him forever, because it was so damn good. And so different than the other moments when he confessed about the muzzling.

There were no curses and threatening what he'd do with his baseball bat like there was with Finnick.

There were no waterfall of tears and blaming the world like his mother had done.

There was just silent understanding and calm comforting, which he had never experienced after that fateful day.

And he felt so fucking safe.

For the first time in years, he wasn't ashamed to feel vulnerable, because he felt safe. Sure that she wouldn't wound him. Maybe it was that a lot of time had passed and the pain had turned into a distant memory. Or maybe it was because of the bunny. She, and her attitude to not pour all her emotions into making his own resurface and dabble in it; but rather, just quietly sit and share the pain.

Sit, listen, solace. That what she offered. And mix it up further by telling him, like no-one ever did, that he was so much more than other mammals thought.

Even when he still sometimes had to fight with himself not to agree with them.

To get to him, and come out stronger for it.

 

Here she was... A perfect stranger who stopped to be a stranger, but stayed perfect.

He was looking at her muzzle, taking a mental picture, to commit every moment to memory, so he could come back to this every time he felt down.

These eyes.

And this smile.

This touch, and these words.

 

And then he saw her in a different way. Something strange and unknown sparkled in his heart and brain. And that totally froze him. All he could process now was only one sentence, which was glowing like a neon in his mind.

_"This is love. This is love. Oh, God, I'm in love."_

That conclusion come to him completely out of the blue. Or, to be more accurate, out of the purple. If it would be a cartoon, there would be a ray of sunshine going down from the sky straight to the now fully enlightened fox as the revelation dawned on him. Because he suddenly understood, that from this particular point, it stopped being just simple crush.

And if it wasn't love, then he didn't know what "love" is.

The thought gave him both pleasant and thrilling chill down his spine, since he has never felt this before.

Nick really didn't know what to do now. He wanted to tell her, to hug her, to run away screaming, to shout in joy, to hide somewhere, to jump in excitement, to kiss her. All at the same time.

 

But he couldn't, of course.

This time it would really cause her to run away, no matter if she liked him or not. They knew each other for only one day, God damn it!

And since the todd's system got so many different commands, his brain entirely turned off. It was probably an emergency shutdown, to not give the fox anymore crazy ideas. If he could spare the brain cells, he would've have assured himself it was hopeless.

There was only his heart, pounding like crazy.

Judy was sitting right beside him, still looking at him, oblivious to what he was feeling right now, and to what he was currently going through.

And she was probably waiting for him to say something.

So the teeny weeny bit of Nick's common sense that was left on board after the sudden love storm, sent the only lifeboat it had.

"C-carrots... d-do you know...?" The fox began quietly, dimly registering what he's doing, "...what did the mayonnaise say when somebody opened the refrigerator?" Seeing her quizzical and totally surprised look, he delivered an answer, his voice high and squeaking, "'Hey, close the door! I'm dressing!'"

Her eyes went wide as she registered the joke. Then the corners of her mouth went up a little and in a second she couldn't help but burst into laugher. This immediately sobered the fox, because he hadn't heard her laugh so hard before.

And despite internally facepawing himself for doing such stupid thing RIGHT after THAT beautiful moment, Nick looked at the

giggling bunny. And before he could stop himself, began to to join her.

For a long moment, they both just laughed, completely unrestrained, eyes closed with mirth.

"Oh Nick..." Judy sighed and shook her head as their laughter began to fade. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she smiled at him again. "You are just impossible!"

"Absolutely..." He nodded, feeling greatly relieved that she said IMpossible instead of IMbecile. But Nick had a feeling, that she somehow understood his way of behaving.

Because this little stupid joke cut all the tension which the previous talk brought. "One hundred percent."

 

She looked at their empty mugs before she took them in her paws to return them to the barista's counter. When she got up and walked away, Nick resisted looking at her fluffy tail (ok, he looked anyway, but only a quick glance), and took advantage of the bunny's absence to calm himself.

_"Ok, buddy, easy there. I know that this thing is quite life changing, but you need to chill out. There we go, deep breaths. Oh, you foxes, so emotional! Pretend that nothing happened. Hide it. You managed to cover your emotions for so many years, you can do this now, too. Ok, she's coming!"_

Judy was back, and Nick's toothy grin greeted her. Emotions hidden, smugness activated.

"You know what, that coffee was just what I needed." She said, hopping back on her chair. "I've got a reeeally long afternoon ahead of me."

"Oh..." Nick said eloquently, still not fully recovered from all he was experiencing, but trying hard to steady his voice, "What's on your agenda today?"

"Well, first, I need to make more chocolates." She started, before looking at Nick with a curious smile, "Hey, do you know how to make chocolates?"

The fox shook his head.

"No. But, and I don't want to brag or anything, I make a mean bowl of cereal! Just the right amount of milk and everything. I don't burn it or my flat down, either." He said proudly, 'smug Nick' finally back on duty.

Judy giggled. "Wow! I'm impressed! But it is edible?"

Nick huffed and gave a mockingly hurt look.

"Of course it is!" he said, but a moment later he sighted in resignation, remembering that it was actually the only food he could prepare without involving an insurance agency or having emergency back up on speed dial.

"But, that's where my culinary prowess ends. And as great as my cereal is, I know some things that taste better."

"I know, I know- my lipsssssweets!" She replied, batting her lashes as she teased him.

Nick felt his blush coming back.

"Hey, I think that we've already been through this!" he protested, but smiled seeing she was so carefree about the situation.

"Oh, don't worry. That wasn't that bad." Judy waved her paw dismissively. "You could always have said something worse. For example, 'tits'." Her comment was followed with a saucy smile and wagging of her eyebrows.

"Carrots!" he hissed, bulging his eyes at her as she burst into laughter at his reaction. But he couldn't help his own chuckle, shaking his head at her crude suggestion. "Oh, you're terrible! Keep teasing me like this and I might take offense."

"Oh, you poor fox! How could I do **tits** to you- errr, I mean **this**!" Her faux innocent look, paired with wide eyes and a slight biting of her lower lip, last for only a moment before she dissolved into giggles again.

 

_"That girl is crazy."_ Nick thought to himself, seeing Judy laughing hard from her own antics. _"Totally freak. Oh God, I love it."_

"Haha, Nick, forgive me," she continued, calming down a bit from her mirth, "I just **love** to see you flustered..." Judy said, but then she semingly bit her tongue and looked away for a while, clearing her throat. Then she looked back at him and asked in a shy voice, "So... Maybe you would like to come and see how I make my... what did you called them? Bunnsicles?"

The offer was extended with that sweet smile of hers. A smile that caused the todd's brain to stop working again, not very surprising. He was starting to get use to not having full use of the damn organ.

_"OMG OMG OMG!"_ Nick mentally squealed so hard, Clawhouser would be put to shame. _"She DOESN'T want to go away! This may have been a 'thanks-for-helping' coffee, but she's not leaving! She wants to spend more time with me!"_

While Nick's brain was raving, his voice left him. He only nodded in agreement as goofy smile creeped on his muzzle and his tail started wagging, its enthusiastic swaying thumping against the seat back.

"Great! So let's go!" She exclaimed happily as she hopped down from her chair.

 

Nick was on auto-pilot as he followed her to the stroller. Though he paused when he took it in his paws.

"Er... where are we going?"

"Grand Pagolin Arms." Judy said. "I'm renting a room there."

_"Somebody pinch me. Please, somebody pinch me! She is asking me to her room!"_

But after a while of just staring at her with a dumb smile, Nick shook out from his stupor and started proceeding what she has just said.

_"Grand Pagolin Arms was it?"_

Nick knew the place (honestly, he knew all Zootopia like his own paw), and he knew that it was a looong way from where they were.

"Should we take the train?" He asked, afraid if she knows how far it was. "It's quite far away from here."

"I'm good with walking if you are." She said with a smile. "We can talk all the way and maybe get to know each other better!"

And hearing this, Nick wasn't sure if his brain was exploding from the excitement, or melting from the affection. Whatever it was, he couldn't stop smiling widely to the beautiful bunny beside him.

_"She'll be death of me."_

 

He managed to nod his head lightly and start pushing the stroller. But after a while, he pull himself together, and his smug attitude took the charge.

"So!" Nick began, "New place, new life?"

Judy nodded.

"Yup. I really wanted to move to the big city. And since my parents have enough children to help them on the farm, I decided to come here."

"And to sell the remains of chocolate bunny executions, I get it." Nick snickered.

"Oh, come on!" Judy gave his side a slight nudge, giggling a little.

"No, no, I really mean it!" Nick insisted, trying to look serious. "I'm really curious if you also sell chocolates shaped like the rest of the bunny? You know, 'body- without- the- head- sicles'?"

Judy laughed hard at his suggestion.

"Nick, you dumb fox!" She said through her chuckle, shaking her head, "I'm afraid to ask where you got that idea!"

"You know..." Nick said, pretending a sad tone, polishing his badge nonchalantly with his one free paw, "...sometimes police interrogations don't go as smoothly as we'd wish..."

"Phew, I'm so happy I already have my permit and I don't need to experience what you mean first paw!" The bunny dragged her paw across her forehead to wipe nonexistent sweat.

_"And I'm so happy that you didn't have that permit when I met you!"_ Nick thought to himself. Only twenty four hours and he already couldn't imagine his life without her.

"Unfortunately for you and your strange preferences, I've only got the mold shaped like bunny's head." Judy explained, "But if business picks up, I'll consider it in the future. Maybe as a Halloween special."

"Oh, you totally should do that! Or better yet, try a completely random holiday. A holiday no-one would expect." Nick nodded vigorously, "Like on Valentine's Day. Someone can buy the head and someone else can buy the body. Add a little note saying 'You Complete Me' or something equally corny. It would be so romantic!"

"Nick, I don't want to upset you," the bunny began with a smile and roll of her eyes, "but you have a very odd definition of romantic."

"Well, can't blame me too much, Fluff," he argued with a shrug, "I don't exactly have experience in this stuff."

The confession slipped out before he could stop it, his mouth once again faster than his brain. He cringed a little at his outburst, but then Judy's paw waved in a dismissive manner.

"Ah, that makes two of us."

Nick almost tripped over his own feet hearing this.

"That's one of the reasons I left BunnyBurrow. My parents were constantly playing matchmakers. Setting me up time and time again, with all the bucks they met. Random bucks, too!" She shook her head. "I was really fed up with it. I was hoping putting some distance between me and them would calm down their eagerness. So far so good."

"Oh..." the fox responded, feeling both extremely happy that she was single, but greatly disappointed that she might be unwilling to change that. "So... you're living yoooung, and wiiild, and freee?" Nick asked, sing- song voice.

Judy gave a small laugh, recognizing the song.

"Yeah. Something like that." she said, before looking away. "But you know, life is a little bit messy. I'm good with being single now, but who knows? Maybe that could change..."

Nick's heart skipped a bit hearing this. And that gave him a tiny-weeny hope.

Hope, that change would start with him.


	11. Walking

**A/N** Hello in another chapter! :) Sorry for making the update so long.

I had this chapter ready for a long time, but I always post a chapter when I have the another one finished. And let me tell you, that wasn't easy. It's not like I want to make you waiting, God no. I had that damned writers block. There wasn't even one sentence I could produce. I didn't have the concept and generally I didn't know what to write next. Over two weeks- and nothing! I was really frustrated. But one day (well, actually it was a night and I was almost asleep), I was finally enlighted, and chapter 12 was all written in two days, ideas almost pouring from my sleeve, as one sentence was building another. And believe me, it's a sweet chapter:) worth waiting for.:) My favourite so far.

But first, chapter 11.

As usual, big big thanks to my editor **blueberryandhoney** \- for everything.:)

 

**Chapter 11**

Nick felt like he wasn't walking, just flying a few inches above the pavement. Judy's words had that alarming effect on him. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to feel anything less than elated. The seed of hope she planted in his mind was rooting madly.

He wasn't inquiring further though. He was just holding tight to the thought that maybe, maybe, it really meant what he thought it meant. That he has a chance. And he decided to exploit this as hard as possible.

But there were some "whoopsies", which the darker part of his brain was constantly whispering in his head .

"Whoopsie" number one was she said that her parents were looking for bucks for her. Not "males"- bucks specifically. That caused the fox to wonder if her parents would accept him as a match for their daughter. Him, who wasn't just NOT a buck, but a fox no less... A natural enemy many, many lifetimes ago. A predator.

But even if the vision of bunny hoards with pitchforks and torches wasn't enticing, he was ready to take that risk if Judy would want him to.

However, here comes double "whoopsie": was SHE even interested in any males other then rabbit bucks? Did she ever consider inter-species relationship? Was she against pred- prey dating? Times change, and now it wasn't as odd as it was a few years ago. However, it still wasn't terribly common.

Nick was really beginning to hate that. Feelings aren't something you can control. How do explain to yourself that 'no, you can't love that mammal, even if it's the best one you've ever met, because you both are different species'? It felt stupid and unfair. And he really hoped that Judy was on the same page with that.

And then there was "whoopsie" number threesie: Even if she wouldn't mind dating someone other than a bunny, would she like HIM for her mate? He was a nice guy, funny and all, but would it be enough to conquer her heart? To be willing to put up with criticism sure to come if she decided to be with him?

He was ready to fight for this. Nick really would do anything and everything to get her feelings. But what if it didn't work? What if she never felt the same?

 

Suddenly, Nick felt his heart sink, bringing him back down to Earth and weighing him down like an anchor on a ship. He had to summon all his willpower to stop his tail from scraping behind him.

_"Hey, you know you have experience with interrogating suspects, right?"_ A sly though crept into his head, almost causing his muzzle to curve in a smug smile.

Suddenly, the cop he worked so hard to become woke up in Nick. That was the solution. Interrogate her, just a little, to see if he had a green light to go further. It was so simple, so easy. Especially to a pro like him.

He wanted, needed even, to explore the ground more.

Collect evidence.

One after another, in a small, delicate steps.

"So..." he began, "your parents just can't wait to see more grandkids?" Nick asked, trying to gain more informations about potential in-laws.

"Oh, gimme a break!" She shook her head. "If I had a dollar every time my mother said 'it's about the time' or 'I met the perfect guy for you', I'd be on Canarian now, laying on the beach, sipping cocktails, and getting pampered!"

Nick instantly imagined Judy in bikini, lying on the blanked at the sanded beach, her rear up as her fuzzy tail flicked invitingly... But he quickly cleared his mind and chuckled a little to let the images fade away (at least till he was alone).

"Don't they have enough of them with those two million siblings of yours?"

He asked with his brows high.

Judy gave him a look, but then she shook her head.

"It's not like that. My mother just wants me to make a family before it's, you know, too late." she explained with sigh.

"And how old are you?" he asked, because she really didn't look like her biological clock was ticking that insistently.

"Twenty four." Came the dismissive response before she turned large, curious eyes to him. "And you?"

"Grandpa here is thirty two, young lady..." he said, pointing his thumb at himself, sounding like his own grandfather.

The bunny's mouth dropped open on a fake shock, before she grinned at him.

"Cheese and crackers, thirty two? I didn't think mammals even lived that long!" She said with a giggle.

"Har har!" Nick said, rolling his eyes with a smile. "So funny! Forgive me for not dissolving into laughter. Bad back, you know."

Judy giggled again.

"If you can remember my name, you're not that decrepit. My grandpa, PopPop, still calls me Trudy."

"Wait a sec..." He said, and the bunny looked up at him and his far off expression, her brow crinkled in curiosity, before he turned back to her with a sly smile. "Ok. Added to the list of annoying nicknames, Carrots!"

Eyes narrowed on him, Judy's mouth fell open.

"Jerk!" she said, with a look of offense that had Nick's smile faltering for a moment. But the subtle twitch in the corner of her mouth and twinkling eyes gave her away.

"Fluff!" he shot back.

This time she couldn't hold back her grin.

"Dork!" she countered, nudging him with her elbow.

"Fuzz!"

"Goofball!"

"Sweetheart!"

 

Ok, that last one wasn't planned.

A powerful blush consumed his entire body as his mouth snapped shut. As though he could take back the word.

Even if Nick had a very, very bad experience with a muzzle, he really started considering buying himself one right now. He was totally pissed with his brain, because since yesterday it seemingly left on vacation, with no plans on returning.

Nick looked at the bunny, feeling panicked, and was met with her happy gaze. Too happy. Judy was giggling still.

"Hey, that last one was cute!" she said sweetly. "It sounds better than Carrots!"

Tension that had his stomach in knots began to dissipate. She wasn't offended and didn't mind him calling her sweetheart! True, he meant it in jest (at least, so she thought), but the fact remained she was okay with that endearment. What was more, she wasn't just not bothered, but she liked it.

And he liked it that she liked it.

"Ha! Maybe another day..." He smiled smugly and shrugged. "Today you're 'Carrots', and I'm ready to milk it as much as possible."

"Don't remind me I agreed to that..." Judy shook her head with a smile.

"I owned that! I risked my life!" Nick said in exasperation, causing her to laugh again and shake her head.

 

_"Eh-hem, philanderer, didn't we plan to interrogate her a little_?" His brain reminded.

Nick decided to bring their talk back to his original objective.

"So, anyway, why are your parents pressing you so hard? It's not like you'll retire this... venture... anytime soon."

Judy's smile faded as her eyes darkened in annoyance.

"I always get the speech like 'when I was your age, I have already had you and sixty of your siblings'. So that's the model they think I should follow. And considering most of my brothers and sisters are married with kits, the pressure is quite big." She sighed.

"You know that you don't have to do that. It's not like you have to be happy repeating somebody's patterns." Nick said. "There's no point in following someone else's dream."

"I know, right? But my mother claims that I'll feel my maternal instinct when I meet the right guy. So, beside providing fresh fruits and vegetables to surrounding stores, she never forgot to supply me with my daily dose of 'suitable bucks' since I became of age." Judy explained.

"Huh, your mom seems to be completely opposite of mine." Nick responded with a thoughtful smile. "She quit asking me about this stuff. I think that I'm just too old to be pestered with it anymore. That, or my mom just lost hope for me." He chuckled.

"...Or maybe she knows that you're waiting for 'the right one'." Judy suggested with a smile.

_"I'm not waiting anymore, Fluff..."_ Nick thought to himself, looking at her beautiful muzzle _. "And you wouldn't guess who happens to be 'this right one'..."_

"Huh, maybe." Nick shrugged. "Surely she doesn't think that I'm going to be a priest anymore, since I'm already a cop."

Judy looked at him and bursted into laugher, seemingly imagining Nick in a cassock.

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, I can't see that!" She shook her head as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.

Nick rolled his eyes and pretended to be offended, one paw going to his chest.

"Hey, I'm a fox of many talents. I sure would make a great priest." He huffed. "I'd reside over the best funerals ever! The pianist would play 'Highway to hell', I'd add some puns and jokes to the preach to revive the atmosphere..." Nick's eyes got wide as he began to picture his life as a fox of the cloth, using his paws to set the scene for the bunny. "Ooh! And there would be that wedding game, but with the funeral wreath. You know, whom ever catches it will be next to die!" He nodded, sure of the fun this idea would bring. "I tell you, mammals would be DYING to see this. I could totally URN for living like this. Make money LETTING mammals DOWN."

Judy had a problem breathing from laughing so hard. She gasped and shook her head, waving her paws in attempt to shut him up.

"Nick..." the bunny said, desperately gasping for air between bouts of laughter, "I'm... so glad... that you're already a cop!"

"Ooh, you are no fun!" he said childishly with a pout.

But he was really happy that his babble made Judy laugh again. And to hear that sweet sound, he was ready to act like a nitwit for the rest of his life.

 

He then looked at the chuckling bunny beside, and suddenly Nick's brain was brightened with a great thought.

He didn't need to check if he had any chances with Judy.

There was no point in interrogating her and was no need to find out what she looked for in a male.

Because it didn't matter.

 

Spending time with her was truly great for him, and he wanted to do this no matter if she felt more than just friendship, or not.

Because whatever happened, he wouldn't just stop talking with her, helping her, entertaining her, making her laugh.

Because, no matter what, he still wanted to try to be the best version of himself when she's around.

And because even if she's not into him now, who knows what tomorrow would bring? Maybe she'll fall for him someday?

And if there's any chance for this, he refused to give up without trying.

 

"Nick..." her sweet voice brought him back from his rumination, "You are the first person who made my stomach ache without even touching it!" She was still giggling. "If I spend enough time with you, I'll probably get abs from laughter."

"Ha! I'm better than any gym!" he exclaimed proudly. Then he started tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I'd make a great gym trainer, too... Imagine this: weightlifting, but with donuts instead of dumbbells! My customers would never get slim, so I'd get money from them to no end! And my clients wouldn't feel guilty, because they're 'working out'."

"Ha! That's a hell of a hustle, Slick!" Judy gave him another nudge, her smile nearly as sly as his own.

For the rest of their walk, they made up alternative professions for the todd. Nick was having fun describing the twisted ways he turn each one into a joke. Though in reality, he most likely would be fired one his first day. But the game made both of them laugh like maniacs.

And in that moment they were just good friends, and nothing else mattered.

/

They stopped in front of Judy's complex. The bunny took the stroller from Nick, moved it to to bike stand, looping a chain around it before securing it with a padlock. Then she came back to the todd with a bundle of keys, searching for the one which would open the front doors.

"Nice carrot, Carrots!" Nick said, pointing out her orange keychain. "Can't get enough of them, huh?"

Judy playfully stuck out her tongue at him as she find the right one and started walking upstairs to the doors.

"Come in before I decide you need a warrant to enter." With a wink, she opened the door. "Or before I consider assaulting a police officer."

Nick obeyed, shutting down his brain as it started showing him some strange, BDSM images with Judy in the main role.

The building didn't look inviting from the outside, and inside it wasn't much better. In the corridor, the wallpaper looked like it was older than the building itself. Large strips hanging off the wall where the glue had worn off, there were whole sections where some mammal had put it out of its misery. The floor was hardwood, but the boards lacked either paint or varnish and were water stained in many places.

A lonely, long, dirty carpet led from the entrance to the stairs to the first floor. The stairs did not look inviting as well, old wood looked like it was begging for setting it fire. At first glance, nothing there looked like a residential complex.

Nick looked at Judy to make sure if they entered the right place, but the bunny didn't even acknowledge the dilapidated lobby. She waved to an elderly armadillo, apparently the landlady, who was sitting in one of the rooms with doors opened, before she bounced happily to the stairs.

And that was all Nick needed to see to make the dreary hall brighter and prettier.

She hopped up a few steps and turned to the fox, beckoning to him to follow.

They went up to the second floor, and Judy guided him to her room. As they passed the other apartments, Nick wondered about the material the doors were made out of. Surely cardboard would muffle sound better, since every bit of noise from the other rooms was heard in the hallway. Perfectly.

 

They stopped by one of the doors and Judy put a key in the lock. After a small wrestling match to get it to turn, it was finally pushed open, revealing the bunny's apartment. Well, apartment wasn't really a good word. For Nick, it was just shoebox, but a bit bigger.

As they entered inside, the todd could see the tiny, nice made bed on the left and a desk loaded with equipment across from it. Probably something connected with making the chocolate. Next to the desk was a little fridge.

When he moved closer (which meant two more steps and he was there), he noticed something that caught all his attention. A dozen of plushy bunnies on the bed, all in different sizes and colours, but definitely all just too sweet to let it go.

"You didn't say you had roommates." Nick chuckled, taking one of the plushies in his paws. His fingers moved over the soft cloth ears and stitched eyes before he returned it to its spot on the bed.

Judy gave him a stormy look, but said nothing. Instead, she turned on something that looked like a big fryer situated on the desk.

"First, we need to go to the bathroom to wash our paws." Judy commended. Nick's uncertain gaze wondered around the room to find a bathroom inside, making her chuckle a little.

"Unfortunately, this is a trip down the hallway." she explained as she headed for the door again.

Nick was shocked. Not only did she lived in a shoe box, but she didn't even have her own bathroom. And no matter how many possibilities of peeking at Judy in communal shower his brain was presenting, he still couldn't believe that in this times that things still happened. But he didn't say anything, obediently following the bunny to wash their paws.

When they returned, the odd fryer looking machine started beeping. Judy moved to take out disposable gloves from her desk. She put them on at her paws, then she looked at the fox with a smile and asked:

"Ready?"

And meeting her eyes, realizing he was in her apartment, her own space, the only place in the city that was truly her own with no one else around, Nick gulped in what was not entirely fear. But that didn't stop him from smiling back.

"Ready…"


	12. Singing

**A/N** Welcome to another chapter- my favourite so far.:)  
Necessarily check the cover to my story- I was so excited when I got it I almost exploded. :D It looks wonderful, super cute and oooh my God! But it's Qal, so how could it be less than amazing?!:)  
Thank you for all your comments, i LOVE to read them, so feel free to write what you think.  
As always, big thanks to my great editor, blueberryandhoney.:)  
I also would like to send my greetings to pjack32 and csa-sa1. :)

  
 **Chapter 12**  
Nick knew that song.  
Knew it damn well, because since it was released, every radio station went totally crazy; playing it at least once an hour. The todd was sick of it. The city's DJs should be fired or forced to serve time for it. They were relentless in grinding this track to no end. He and Finnick had a theory that they were in competition with each other.  
Whomever go the most plays and eventually drove the innocent public to homicide from song annoyance got promoted. Winner take all. Whatever their version of 'all' might be.  
  
Every DJ was winning as it drove Nick crazy every time he heard the voice of the blonde singer. What was more, his cheetah friend, Ben, was a huge fan of her. And he played that song all the time when he was at the reception, and, what's worse, sang it. Loudly, at great length, regardless of whether or not he was in tune with the music.  
The very first "Oh..." of the song was enough to give the fox a headache.  
  
Not this time, though.  
When Judy took her phone in her paws and clicked "Try Everything", she started singing that famous "Oh, oh, oh, oh, ooooh..." with this sweet voice.  
Nick was just sitting at her bed and staring at the bunny completely enchanted. She was taking the ingredients out from her desk and fridge, singing and bouncing happily as her tail flicked to the rhythm, affecting the poor fox just like a hypnotic pendulum.  
  
And Nick suddenly realized that that damned song became his absolute favorite.  
  
When all ingredients were ready, Judy started putting them one after another to a big, silver bowl attached to the fryer-like machine. The todd was accurately able to deduce it to be an electric heater, since the bunny didn't have a real kitchen in her shoebox.  
  
"I'm pouring milk, waiting till it boooils..." Judy was singing her own words to the rhythm of song's chorus, trying to outshout Gazelle, making the fox chuckle. "It may take some time, but there's no way ouuut!", she sang further. "No, I won't leave, I wanna make bunn-sicles, I'm gonna make bun-sicles all the time..."  
  
The fox was watching with a wide smile glued to his face as she was mixing up the ingredients with a big, wooden spoon, singing her own version of Gazelle's hit, and after a while he couldn't help but join her.  
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, MIX EVERYTHING!" he crooned happily, and Judy giggled, repeating after him.  
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, MIX EVERYTHING!" she sang loudly as she couldn't stop her mirth.  
"You keep on making those bunn-sicleees..." Nick sang further.  
"I keep on making them every daaay..." Judy sang back through her laugher.  
  
For a while they were just singing and laughing from their antics. The song ended just when Judy finished mixing up all the ingredients she added, and after wiping the tears of joy from her eyes, she took a spoonful of liquid chocolate and turned to Nick, who was still happily humming the song, his eyes closed.  
"It's even better when it's melted," she said, moving the spoon to Nick's muzzle for him to taste it, her other paw right under it to prevent it from accidental dripping on the floor.  
  
Nick's heart almost stopped when he opened his eyes and looked at Judy. His mouth suddenly salivated at the sight of her, her muzzle was moving closer and closer to his. With softly pursed lips, so gently blew on the chocolate in the spoon to cool it down.  
When their noses almost touched, his mouth hanged open, and Judy pushed it into his mouth, allowing him to closed it around the sample, still looking into her beautiful, purple eyes.  
  
_"Oh my freaking God, it's HOT."_ He thought to himself.  
  
And he wasn't thinking about the chocolate.  
  
This little, innocent gesture turned him on so badly, he was afraid to look down. So he didn't, and hoped Judy wouldn't either. There was only so much embarrassment a fox could take.  
  
Judy moved back as she straightened, looking at him with excited curiousity, just like that when she was watching him taste the carrot topping.  
"Tasty, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.  
He managed to nod his head with eyes wide and expression blank.  
"Amazing."  
  
And he wasn't talking about the chocolate.  
  
"Ha, told you!" Judy huffed proudly as she went back to her desk, turning off the heater and turning on another Gazelle's song. "Now, we'll be filling these empty heads." she instructed, taking the molds out from her desk. "I mean, I'll be doing this, and you'll be watching." She smiled smugly. "Who knows, maybe someday this 'fox-of-many-talents' will open his own stall, with foxy heads?"  
Nick chuckled, trying to bring back his sanity and cool down his dirty thoughts.  
"Mhm, yeah..." he shook his head with a smile. "With my miserable kitchen skills, my products would probably be called 'gag-a-lots'..." Judy giggled.  
"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad. You've got a quite good teacher." She winked at him, making his heart speed up again.  
  
When the molds were ready, Judy took a ladle and began to fill every mold with chocolate.  
"Since you were such mannerly fox all the time, I'll let you put the sticks into the mold." Judy offered with a smile, giving Nick a pack of wooden sticks. "But you know, it's quite difficult, are you sure you know HOW to do it?" She grinned teasingly.  
Nick took the sticks from her, sending her fake stormy gaze. Then he started adding them, doing his best to focus on the task in paw, since Judy's hips swaying to Gazelle's "Hips don't lie" were quite distracting.  
  
_"Jesus! I'm terrible! Poor bunny is just enjoying herself with a typical bunny bounce and I'm ogling her on every possible occasion!"_ He thought to himself, but it was stronger than his willpower would allow, unable to stop himself from sneaking quick glances here and there. _"And she is still wearing that damn skirt! Who wouldn't be staring?!"_ He was trying to excuse himself, suddenly loosing interest in sticks and bunn-sicles, internally wondering how he could ever see anything appealing in vixens. Especially when bunnies have such appetizing rears.  
  
Judy looked at him over her shoulder, as she noticed he stopped moving.  
"Yet too complicated?" She stuck out her tongue out at him with a smile.  
Nick quickly turned back to his senses, putting on a smug smile. "N-no, just wondering what the bunn-sicles would look if you'd put blueberries where their eyes are."  
"Hehe, they'd probably look like they were shocked..." Judy giggled, seeming to imagine her chocolate bunnies with big, blue, bulged eyes. "But you know what? It's not a bad idea to add some fruits to my chocolates..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully and started nodding her head. "We'll try it one day." And with that, she gave him a happy smile before turning back to filling the molds.  
  
But Nick couldn't currently come back to his task.  
_"She said 'we'..."_ His brain was raving. _"Oh my God, she said 'WE'! 'WE'll try it one day'. WE! ONE DAY!"_ Nick took his tail up to prevent it from thumping happily on the floor. Then he continued putting sticks into the chocolates, now with even bigger smile that before.  
One after another, trays with molds were hidden in the fridge, with Gazelle's music blasting, happy chatter and chocolate aroma filling the air in the small room.  
  
///  
  
The fridge could fit more trays that Nick expected. It was two hours before they were they were done. Judy finally closed the fridge before taking the bowl and spoons to wash it in her communal bathroom. For a few moments Nick was left alone in her room, his heart growing. Apparently she put so much trust in him she wasn't afraid to do it. He promised to put all dry ingredients back in her desk, still humming happily as he got to work.  
  
Earlier, there was no time to look around, since Judy was the most interesting aspect of the room. With her washing up, his attention could focus in on other things. Spotting some frames with pictures on her commode, he moved closer to inspect it.  
In one of the pictures there were a group of bunnies, the sheer size of the group making him whistle. Nick quickly counted seven adults, eight kids, and Judy. Judy was the most interesting thing in the photo, but he resisted staring at her and decided to look at the other bunnies.  
Two elder rabbits must have been her parents, since Judy had the same orbs colour like the older gray doe beside her, but the shape of her eyes match the older buck. Other adults looked like her sisters and brothers (he even recognized her brother, Jerry, who he meet earlier that day), and the kits- from tiny babies to a little school aged youngsters- looked like her nephews.  
  
The photo must have been taken in a rush, not everybody having time to smile or look straight into camera. But nevertheless the picture looked sweet and cute.  
Suddenly, Nick felt a sting of pain that he didn't have this kind of family photos. There was only him and her mother in their albums. More of him, as his mother couldn't help taking photos as he grew up, but occasionally there were a couple of them together.  
Another sting of pain came when Nick realized that, if the miracle happens, his prayers would be listened, and he would somehow got together with Judy, they wouldn't have this kind of portraits.  
Because they couldn't have their own children.  
  
Nick's heart sank, and he started to seriously thinking over if he should even consider doing that to Judy. To make her love him. And to take away from her any chance that she could take a similar picture, with dozens of her own children, right beside that one.  
With him as her mate, there would be no family picture to display on a pretty wooden shelf in a pretty wooden house in the suburbs.  
There was only one way that could ever happen.  
That sort of photo could be hers- hers, and her rabbit husband's.  
  
Just the thought of Judy with someone else made his blood boil, each strand of his fur straightening on his body. But what could he do? It's not like a fox and a rabbit could breed, and if Judy would like to have a normal, typical family, being with a fox wasn't an option.  
  
The sound of opening doors dragged him out of his reflections, Judy coming into the room before she spotted him and paused. Her eyes roamed over him for a moment before her muzzle split into joyfully smile.  
Trying not to love her wasn't an option, either.  
Mission impossible. Insurmountable, unworkable and out of the question.  
But she didn't need to know that. And she wouldn't know, he decided. He couldn't do that to her.  
  
Being "just friends" wouldn't be that bad, would it?  
  
He smiled lightly, meeting her gaze, trying to cheer up a bit. There was no sense in showing her that something's wrong. It's not like he could explain his sudden infatuation without the poor bunny running screaming from the room.  
If he planned to be her friend, at least he had to be the best one she has ever had.  
  
Judy put now clean bowl and spoons down before she approached him.  
"Ooh, you've seen the picture, haven't you?" she asked, taking the picture in her paws. "That's my parents and my siblings from 'J' litter with their children!"  
  
Meeting his quizzical look, she explained, "We've got alphabetical litters, you know? Look..." She started pointing each of her siblings, "That's Jenny, Jerry- you've met him already, that's mum and dad, and here's Jordy and Jill."  
"Err, no, wait, I don't get it..." Nick shook his head, making Judy stop before she started giving him children's names.  
This time it was her turn to look at him quizzically.  
"Huh? What?"  
"How comes Trudy is in 'J' litter?" He asked with a smug smile, and immidiately was granted with a solid nudge in the ribs. "Ouch... Ok... I deserved that one..." He wheezed, as dauntless Judy continued listing the rest of the names.  
"...and that's Tommy, Gill, Andy..."  
She was pointing one bunny after another.  
  
Nick was lost from the amount of informations, and probably only Jerry and Judy were the names he memorized.  
"How can you even remember who is who and what's his name?" He asked, shocked.  
"Hmm... And how do you remember each street of Zootopia, where it is and where it leads?" Judy asked rhetorically. "That's the power of our minds. Just like remembering the lyrics of a song. You know them even in you don't like it. Hey, speaking about the songs!" She bounced back to her phone. "We were listening to Gazelle's song, since she's one of my favorite singers. But what kind of music do you like?" She asked, taking some cookies from her desk and sitting on her bed, making a place for him to join her.  
  
Being on one bed with Judy was something he wasn't expecting. It was just sitting together, sure, but it still was her bed, and it still was more than he could dream of. So with knot in his guts and his solid "we are just friends" resolve, he joined her.  
"Well... 'Angel with horns' isn't my type of music, but somebunny is making a fan out of me…" He winked at her. "But if you want to know what I do like to listen, I can show you."  He said, holding his paw expectantly, Judy nodded and gave him her phone.  
He started typing, but suddenly stopped and gave her a teasing look. "But you know, it's not exactly music for a cute, little bunny."  
Judy sent him a stormy gaze.  
"Don't call me cute." She said. "And bring it on."  
  
/////  
  
"It was..." Judy began. "...dynamic."  
Nick chuckled.  
"Dynamic it was. And awesome." He nodded his head.  
"And what's the band's name, again?" Judy asked.  
"SlipKnot" he answered. Judy gave him a meaningful look, her smile widening. "Hey! It wasn't me who think it up!" He said with his arms up in surrendering gesture.  
Judy giggled as she took the phone from his paws.  
"My turn now!" She said, typing her pick before she clicked 'play'. The room was filled with the voice of Hyena Gomez.  
Then Children of Boboon.  
Followed by Catty Perry.  
With BeheMole right after.  
They sat and listened, arguing and laughing about each other's music preference. Switching from listening to ZooTubing, for a long, long time they enjoyed each other's company, not even noticing they were sitting closer and closer to each other.  
  
///  
  
"It's night?!" Judy suddenly asked, looking away from Nick through the window to see the sky turned dark. "Sweet cheese and crackers, I didn't even notice!"  
Nick was shocked, too. Spending time with Judy had swallowed him completely, taking all his attention out from anything else.  
He was even more shocked when he realized how close to Judy he was sitting.  
  
"Oh..." He said, looking at his watch and quickly getting up from her bed. "Me too. Sorry for sitting here so long."  
Judy smiled.  
"Hey, don't say things like that." she scolded gently wit a shake of her head. "We were having fun together! Aaalthough I need to visit a laryngologist to check if your music didn't hurt my ears." She stuck her tongue out at him, laughing when he returned the gesture.  
"And I need to watch some boxing matches to make sure I'm not turning myself into a girl from your music!" He replied with a chuckle.  
  
Nick knew he needed to go out now. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to. And it almost make him cry like a baby, a vision of being without Judy tearing his heart up.  
But before he could say of do anything, Judy got up and went to her closet to take out her coat. Meeting Nick's quizzical look, she smiled.  
"Officer Wilde, would you escort me to the metro station, please? My shift starts in an hour," she explained, giving him a sweet smile.  
"Shift?" Nick responded in surprised.  
"Yup, I'm a waitress for the night shift." Judy put on her coat, taking her phone and keys. "It's not like my chocolate business would let me live here." She finished with a wink to him.  
Nick didn't have time to think about what she's said, as Judy was opening the door for them to leave.  
"Come on, mister 'I-love-to-listen-animals-roar-instead-of-singing'." She said with a teasing smile.  
  
Following after her, they soon fell into step as they headed for the metro stop near her apartment.  
"Wait a moment…" Nick said after a while of comfortable silence, when his brain finally registered her day schedule. "Street seller at day, waitress at night. When do you even sleep?"  
Judy chuckled. "I sleep sometimes, don't worry. Usually when I finish making my chocolates."  
  
His ears flattened when he realized that by spending time with Judy, he took away her resting time. The guilt from this must have been instantly seen on his muzzle, because Judy quickly comforted him.  
"No, no, no, don't think about it like that. I probably wouldn't have slept after that coffee anyway," she reassured him.  
But since the coffee also was somehow his doing, Nick's muzzle twisted in even more guilt.  
"Ok. Listen." She began before she gave a light sigh. "Maybe I skipped my usual nap today." Then she looked at him with a wide smile, her eyes full of glee. "But I regret nothing. Spending time with you was a really fun, Nick."  
With his heart melting, it sunk in that he have never heard someone saying things like that to him. It made the guilt he felt a while ago fade away, replaced by a "ear to ear" smile.  
  
But as it was common where Judy was concerned, his brain couldn't act properly.  
"You know, Carrots?" His muzzle suddenly serious, he gave her a solemn look. "It may sounds a bit forward, but... I..." He looked her straight into the eyes and they gaze locked, "I... I really like spending time with me, too..." he finished, grinning madly.  
  
Judy giggled, nudging him in his ribs with her elbow.  
"Dumb fox!" She said with a smile, looking at the chuckling todd next to her.  
"Haha, oh, you know you love me..." He replied without pondering.  
  
When the words left his lips, he cringed inside.  
"How could I say that? How could I say that?" The fox was beating himself up in his thoughts, afraid to look at Judy to see her reaction.  
  
But he didn't need to.  
"Do I know that?" Her giggling voice reached his ears, making them raise a little from their flat on head position. He gained the courage to look at her, meeting her happy expression, and those eyes. Those beautiful, purple eyes. "Yes, yes I do."  
  
And Nick died. Or he thought he died, because his heart stopped beating in his chest. Though it was entirely possible it was beating so fast, it's movement seemed stagnant. He was just staring at her as they were walking, not believing his ears. Judy was giggling like mad, bouncing happily next to him.  
  
_"Did I hear right? Did she just say…?"_ A brainstorm was beginning to brew in his head. But before he could even process what has happened, Judy's voice dragged him out of this thoughts.  
"Hey, look, it's my train!" Her shout cut was the jolt his heart need to be normal again, his eyes focusing in on the vehicle coming closer and closer to the station. Then she pulled her phone out of her pocket and gave it to him.  
"Quick, give me your number." She ordered, and Nick did his best to type as quickly as he could, checking twice to make sure it was correct.  
When he was done, he quickly gave the phone back to the bunny, as the train pulled into the station.  
"Thanks! I'm rushing to work," she said, putting the phone back to her pocket. She looked at Nick, and giving him the prettiest smile he have ever seen, she enveloped him in a quick hug.  
"Thank you, Nick." Her sweet voice whispered, reaching his ears and causing goosebumps under his fur. Before he could even return the hug, she pulled back, still smiling.  
"I'll text you! Bye!" She shouted over her shoulder while she running to the train with bounce in her quick steps.  
  
In a moment train doors closed and the train pulled away with a whistle, leaving the fox alone on the empty station.  
With his expression blank, he was clutching his chest, his paws poised over his heart. Because the world again looked like a jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing; incomplete, dark, and cold as ever.  
And it hurt the fox far more than he could ever expected.  
  
"Bye..."


	13. Waiting (again)

**A/N** Welcome to another chapter:)  
Idea for that one was brought by my greatest editor **blueberryandhoney** some weeks ago, and I'm so grateful! I hope I did good. :) Thank you for everything.:)  
I'm also sending my greetings to **csa-sa1**.:) And the next chapter is his idea! :D   
Thank you for all nice words, I really love to read your reviews!  
  
  
 **Chapter 13**  
  
Nick was like a statue in the middle of the empty station. Judy's train left some minutes ago, but he still hadn't. He was just staring into space, paws still on his chest, expression blank. Even the night air, cooler and cooler with every minute, wasn't able to pull the fox from his stupor. Because from the moment the train disappeared into the dark tunnel, his brain was repeating Judy's words over and over again, like a broken record.  
  
"You know you love me..."  
"Do I know that..? Yes, yes I do."  
  
...  
  
"You know you love me..."  
"Do I know that..? Yes, yes I do."  
  
 _"I'm NOT dreaming."_ Nick thought when he finally shook off his stupefaction. _"She said that."_  
A wide smile began creeping onto his muzzle as his tail started to wag madly.  
"SHE REALLY DID SAY THAT!" Nick shouted, jumping in joy, pumping one of his fist as his body spun in exuberance while he was in the air.  
  
Opening his eyes, which were still shining with glee, he remembered he was in public. His body flushed with embarrassment from his behavior as his ears flattened on his head. The todd quickly looked around to see if  
there was anyone who could have seen him acting like a maniac. Fortunately, he was completely alone in the dark station.   
Sighing, partly in relief, partly to calm himself a bit, Nick look back to where the train had vanished.  
  
With another sigh, his eyes moved check the time his phone. His shift was starting in half an hour, so he really needed to stay sane at least to 5 A.M.  
But how to do that, with those words burrowing their way into his mind?  
  
Turning to leave, Nick made his legs to move in precinct's direction. He began to walk slowly, still high from all the emotions he felt. Humming "Try everything" under his breath, he squeezed his phone in one of his pockets - just in case she would text him.   
They parted ways only minutes ago, so she probably wouldn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't be prepared.  
  
With his fluffy tail swaying from the left to the right, Nick tried with all his might to act normal. Though his brain was far from being focused, his mind replaying images of the bunny. Judy smiling that beautiful smile of hers, Judy giggling when he said something funny, Judy bouncing happily, Judy hugging him.  
And then Judy's hips swaying so appetizing, that tail of hers...  
  
 _"Aaand that's how your 'staying just friends' looks like, huh?"_ asked that pessimistic inner voice of his.  
 _"Come on!"_ Nick challenged dauntlessly, _"Didn't you hear her? She said she loved me! LOVED ME!"_  
 _"Oh really? And you have already forgotten about that family portrait you were so stressed about?"_ Came the teasing response.  
 _"Oh, shut up! Don't you understand?"_ Nick replied, his happiness overcoming his growing annoyance, _"If she loves me back, it changes everything! We can adopt kits, ten of them if she wants. Or fifteen, or a thousand! I don't care, as long as she's there with me. Well, of course I should talk with Bogo about giving me a raise... Oh, and we would need the bigger flat, or a house maybe? But if she loves me back, I know we could make this all work and be a family!"_  
  
Nick finished his inner screed, clutching his chest with his paws again, amazed by the mental picture of him and her, surrounded by children.  
Judy was worried about crumpling his uniform by hugging him earlier, so she definitely should see what he had been able to do to it by himself. The cloth would have to be steamed to get the creases his paws made out.  
  
 _"And you are sure it wasn't a joke, prince charming?"_ The darker part of his brain pressed further.  
That made Nick stopped mid-step. The question hit him like a bullet, his heart twisting at the implication. His eyes went wide and his smile disappeared as he answered both himself and that annoying voice in his head.   
_"I don't know."_  
  
A cold shiver snaked its way down his spine. As appealing as that future he fantasized about with her was, it was just that- a fantasy. A fantasy he wanted desperately.  
 _"Damn it, I don't know! Well, we did banter all day, joking and teasing each other, but this...?"_ He felt the panic rising in his guts. _"Jesus Christ, what if it was just a joke?"_ Nick screamed internally, paws squeezing the shirt of his uniform even harder.  
 _"Oh, don't worry, she couldn't joke like that!"_ The annoying voice in his head sounded almost soothing, with just a hint of condensation that made it no less effective. _"I'm sure she loves you! Like a really, really good friend, but still..."_  
  
Nick was ready to punch himself, but stopped realizing that it wouldn't work like he wanted it to. So he just shook his head to clear his mind.  
Of course trying to guess what Judy had meant by saying those words was totally pointless. Too little hints and too few clues to find the meaning behind it. And she could really mean anything.  
  
So despite his heart twisting her words and actions, altering them to what he wanted to hear, his mind told him to hold back for now. Because, as he had established before, whatever she felt, he would be by her side. And if he wanted to know what was in that beautiful mind of hers, he needed to press pause on his interpretations until he heard it from her.  
  
All he could do now was to wait.  
Calmly.  
Patiently and composedly.  
And he decided to act like an adult and do just like that.  
  
He almost tripped over his own feet when he felt his phone vibrating. The todd made a super quick move to shove the device from his pocket, trying not to rip his pants doing so. His heart was beating so fast, he felt the blood soughing in his ears. Fishing the phone out of  
his pocket, he unlocked it with one shaking finger, smiling like maniac.  
When the screen lit up and blinded him by its sudden light, he reined in all his willpower to not squint so he could read the message.   
The message from his cheetah friend, as it turned out.   
A little white speech bubble, blinking and waiting to be opened. With the name "Spots" right above it.  
  
Nick's smile dropped as he felt his heart sank, disappointment hitting him in his guts like a wrecking ball. He tapped the message with one finger, only to stop the stupid icon from blinking and blinding his naturally nocturnal eyes even more.  
  
"NCk!; I hobe evrthik is ok wih U! Gośh thus prty is gteat, i wsh U wer her. Rmber U gut shuft tnught. Low ya!!;;" - **Spots**  
  
Poor Ben probably put all of his drunk mind into writing it properly, without success.   
Nick really wanted to appreciate the effort- it looked like Benjamin remembered about the fox even when he had more alcohol than blood in his veins. But the anticlimax was still hurting like hell, and he couldn't find the message anything but annoying.  
"Damn it!" Nick cursed out loud, since he was still alone on the dark street and it wouldn't stain his exemplary officer's image. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! What did she do to me!?"  
  
It was a rhetorical question.   
He put his phone back to his pocket so hard, it was close he would look like a member Spring Oasis. Readjusting his pants back onto his hips, he growled in frustration before continuing his walk.  
  
His anger brought him back to his senses a little bit. He even started to feel some fatigue after such a long, emotional day.  
That, and hunger.  
  
 _"Did I eat anything today?"_ he asked himself, trying to remember anything that wasn't the rabbit. _"Cookies? Yeah, we ate cookies. And a lot of chocolate earlier."_ Nick shook his head. _"No wonder I'm starving."_  
Then he thought about Judy, who was with him all that time.  
 _"And she didn't eat anything other than junk, either. Dang, I'm so stupid I made her go to work hungry and sleepy."_ Nick felt like beating himself up, again. _"I hope she's able to grab some food at work."_  
  
Remembering that Precinct One's cafeteria was far from being a suitable dinner spot, he looked around and spotted Snarlbucks logo nearby. It was only few steps up from the precinct, but then again, Nick really needed something other than sugar in his stomach.  
  
"So that's dinner tonight." He sighed, heading to the cafe before it closed.  
Looking at the menu inside, he decided to take two croissants. It sounded almost like first and second course, or he wanted to think about it that way.  
Knowing he has got all night at work ahead, he knew he needed to order another coffee this day. And seeing that the only barista was an elderly gray goat with big glasses on her muzzle and name "Mabel" presented on the tag pinned to her chest, he wasn't too abashed to order his latte.  
With carrot topping on it.  
  
***  
  
Nick was some meters away from the precinct, sipping his latte and chewing the caramelized carrots from the top, when his phone vibrated for a second time that evening. Feeling the incoming message, the fox choked on with the drink.   
With the coffee in his right paw, he quickly put the bag of food to his muzzle to free up his left. Since he was still coughing and choking, it was really quite the feat, but he didn't care. If he was about to suffocate, at least he would know what Judy wrote to him.  
  
His paw fished the phone from his pocket and tried its best to unlock it between the fits of coughing.  
  
"Has da Bunny tasted Ur carrot already? Ya so quiet 2night, did she make U busy?" - **Big Guy**  
  
The message was from Finnick.  
Nosey, over involved Finnick, insinuating the girl of Nick's dreams had him tangled in her sheets.   
And even if the mental image of them in that position made his tail wag like crazy, Nick made a quick judgement call on whether it would be a good idea to just smash his phone on the ground right now.   
  
No, of course he couldn't. She could text him, and he would never know.  
So he just ignored the message, just like the previous one.   
  
He came into to the entrance of Precinct One, shuffling his feet one after the other, already feeling exhausted despite his shift not even starting yet.  
"Bon appetit!" called out Officer Bojack, Ben's night substitute at the reception desk. The horse officer's big brown eyes lingered on the fox, a grin growing on his long muzzle.  
  
Nick waved to him, a quizzical look forming at Bojack's growing amusement. Meeting the larger officer's even bigger smile, the fox quickly analyzed his situation, realizing that he forgot to take the bag out from his muzzle. His teeth still squeezing the brown paper, decorating it with a few little dribbles of saliva.  
  
Quickly taking it in his paws, and looking at the horse, he took a deep breath so he explain himself, but found he didn't have the energy to do so.  
Smiling instead, he just pointed his finger in the direction of the bull pen, and headed there without saying a word.   
With his current state of mind, Nick was afraid to even open his mouth; it would probably end with, "Hey, sorry for FOALING around, MANE event starts in a minute now so I need to HOOF it to a roll colt..." And so on, and so forth... Better to just shut up. Nick had his fill of puns for now.  
  
When he was sitting on his chair safe and sound (and sleepy), he decided to try to get back to normal for the last time by giving himself a serious speech.  
 _"Ok. Listen, fox. You're head over heels for her, yes. She's amazing, oh, she TOTALLY is. And you both had great time today, so it's understandable that you act like you overdosed on drugs. But she's gone... for now. And she promised to text you. Promised! So get your shit together and act like the damn cop on duty you currently are."_  
  
It worked, and he did. He really did.  
For about five minutes, before his brain shut off from exhaustion.  
  
***  
  
Nick came back home looking like a zombie fox. He didn't even bother to clean himself up; undressing on the way from the door to the bed was enough for now. Groaning, he fell onto his pillows, his body dead weight at this point.   
  
He wasn't waiting for the text from Judy anymore.   
Not after the tenth message from everyone else but her. It was like the whole world decided to text him in the last few hours, except the one he was longing for.  
  
His mom asking if he was asleep.  
Finnick with congratulations for banging a bunny.  
Benjamin and other pals with their drunk messages, which looked like the letters were hit on the keyboard randomly.   
Mom asking why he was still awake so late at night.  
More congrats from Finnick.  
And, in the early morning hours, an ad from a local department store about twenty percent off all maternity clothes.   
  
He lost all hope for getting a message from Judy. She probably asked for his number, because she didn't know how to politely end their hang out yesterday.   
Or acquaintance in general.   
That must have been the reason, he thought slowly falling asleep.   
  
And then his phone buzzed.   
  
Nick was sure he was already dreaming, his sleep deprived mind balancing on the edge between conscious and sleep, still wired from his current text receiving obsession. But the phone buzzed for real, causing some quick, quiet noises on his bedside table.  
  
Abruptly opening his eyes, Nick stared at the device for a few seconds, making sure that the phone really existed, feeling his heart speeding up again in hope.  
Then he remembered that the chances of getting text from Judy were smaller than the mice in Little Rodentia, and his enthusiasm started to fade. But he reached for the device anyway and move it closer to his muzzle, the sleep weakened paw barley able to stand the phone's  
weight. Almost falling asleep again, he tapped the screen with his nose to wake the phone up without unlocking it, just to check who wanted to bother him this time.  
  
And he jumped in the air like he was electrocuted when he saw the text message from an unknown number.  
Nearly dropping his phone doing so, he caught it before it hit the ground. Then he tried to unlock it, but his paws were shaking enough to make the task quite difficult.  
  
"Dang!" he growled, frustrated with his own behavior. He stopped moving for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm himself, then carefully slid his finger across the screen, finally unlocking the phone. With his breath caught in his throat (and suddenly wide awake), he opened the message, his eyes quickly scanning the text.  
  
"Hey Slick! Our ZooTubing killed my phone right after saving your number, and I didn't have a charger at work. Are you busy tonight?"  
  
In a moment, all the unease and anxiety from the last few hours faded away. Nick felt like all that fucking waiting was worth receiving a message like that.  
He smiled to himself, his grin wider than ever before.  
  
"Well, it looks that I am now..."


	14. Texting

**A/N**

Hello everyone!:) It took me so much time to write that. Way, way too much. I'm sorry. I hope you all will be able to forgive me, because well, life happens. So, finally- chapter 14 for you!:)

The idea for this chapter was given to me by my great friend,  **csa-sa1** (thank you, you know how much). When he told me that, something clicked in my head, and, viola.:) I think that suits the story sooo well.

We both also wrote a little one-shot, I invite you to read that, too.:) It's on my profile.

Big thanks as usual to the best editor in the whole world :D  **blueberryandhoney**. You NEED to check out her stories! :)

 

 

 

**Chapter 14**

If smile can be a light, then Nick was a fucking lighthouse. An uncontrollable grin was glued to his muzzle, and he knew it wouldn't disappear anytime soon. His heart was hammering in his chest like crazy as he re-read the message from Judy.

For the twentieth time in a row.

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

This time it was clear as day what she meant. Without a doubt, with no room for argument, absolutely one hundred percent… she wanted to spend more time with him.

She wanted to spend more time with him!

He still couldn't tell if she wanted him to be just a friend, or something more, that much was true. But whatever she thought, that little, innocent text meant she really wanted to see him. And when it sank in, Nick felt the urgency to check if he wasn't dreaming. He still couldn't believe his patience was rewarded, and the reward was so freaking worth it.

So he pinched his arm with his claws, hard.

And, to his utter delight, it hurt like hell.

Could things get any better?

He grinned happily as his paw rubbed the spot he had pinched, the pain easing away. This was the pinnacle of heaven. She really wanted to meet up with him again.

Tonight.

At night.

High off the thought, Nick felt the familiar warmth sink into his bones. It made its way down into his belly, the feeling a delicious tingle, as his brain morphed images of her into something far less pure. Slowly, the visions pushed the warmth further down his body.

Nick's muzzle snapped closed and he quickly shook his head. The rational part of his brain was groggy, but still on guard.  _"Really, Nick? Really?", it scolded. "She's being friendly, totally polite and pure as a tear! And you think about THESE things? You don't even know if she thinks about you that way!"_

With another head shake, Nick tried to clear his thoughts, wanting to stay professional despite the strange things happening below his waist.

The most important thing now was, if Nick wanted to set up the meeting, he needed to answer her somehow. Of course he wanted to do it immediately, but honestly he really didn't want to look desperate.

Even if he totally, completely and utterly was exactly that.

No sense in letting her in on that fact just yet.

He gave himself a few minutes to reply, all the while thinking about how he should respond. What could he send that would make him seem curious without being obscenely interested.

And keep Judy from guessing he was on the verge of crying tears of joy.

He typed out possible replies, only to erase them, one after the other. His mind, exhausted and worn out, was completely blank and totally unwilling to help him.

Finally, he managed to write up a suitable reply.

**Nick:**  "I am not sure… need to ask my couch if she hasn't already made some plans for us."

His eyes watched the message send before counting to ten and sending a follow up.

**Nick:**  "It's ok, she has a date with a pillow tonight, so I'm free."

Releasing a shaky breath of both relief and terror, all Nick could do now was wait for a response.

After a small eternity, his ears perked up. They swiveled and honed in on the sound to buzzing. A message came in, and the todd realized that this little sound became his favorite since this morning.

Well, besides Judy's voice, of course.

He quickly tapped the white speech bubble to read the text from her.

**Judy:** "Great, so maybe you could come over? Unless you want to stay at home and chaperon them?:)"

Nick's heart was beating so fast, he thought his ribs would crack.

"C-COME OVER?!" Shooting up in bed, the phone clenched in his paws, he gulped at the excitement pooling in his stomach. It was as though his body was on pins and needles. A restless energy suddenly filled him, making going back to sleep impossible. Needed to move, he stood from the bed and paced the rounds on the floor. Leaving the phone on the covers, his paws tugged his ears nervously.

_"Stop stressing out, fox!"_  Nick scolded to himself, taking in deep breaths of air to calm his furiously speeding heart down.  _"You went over to her place yesterday, too! That's nothing odd! And it means you didn't fuck anything up, and she still wants to get to know you."_

And with that in his mind, and a big grin back on his muzzle, Nick continued doing his rounds around the floor. Though he traded his ear tugging for moves a bit less dignified. Now, the todd swayed his hips and pumped his fists in the air, performing a strange happy-dance that was very Nick-ish. After finishing with several neat pirouettes, he scooped up his phone and tapped the answer with a smile as wide as mile.

**Nick:**  "If you promise I can MIX EVERYTHING this time… I'd be delighted."

" _Those chocolates of hers…"_  Nick thought with a shake of his head.  _"Poor bunny works so hard to make and sell them, and she needs an additional job anyway."_

Nick couldn't help but admire Judy for all the things she tried to accomplish at once. And that was why he really didn't mind helping her again this time. Or any other time. Actually, if he were to be completely honest, he would be willing to help her until the world fell around them. He was ready to do whatever he could to help her, or even do all her work entirely. Moreover, he felt indescribably proud of himself- she must have been really satisfied with his assistance if she wanted to repeat that tonight. He just couldn't stop his tail from happily thumping on the bed, where he jumped into right after sending the message to Judy.

After a while, the phone buzzed again.

**Judy:**  "No chocolate making tonight, Slick. 7 P.M? You know the address.:)".

"No chocolates?" Nick asked himself aloud, feeling a bit surprised, but then he shrugged.  _"Well, no problem for me."_ , he thought. _"Her smile is sweeter than any sweet can ever be, and her lips... Oh my, her lips..."_  Nick's sleep-deprived mind made a stop on that very part of her muzzle, melting itself doing so.  _"Damn it, I would do anything to bite them... Not hard, just a little nibble…"_  The todd closed his eyes and smiled.  _"First shy and gently pinch them with my teeth, testing if she likes it... Delicately lick her mouth, feeling her warm breath on my tongue... And then my fangs would close in on her lower lip, like a..."_

And before Nick's imagination could spread its wings (and other parts of the fox's body), a sudden realization came to his mind.

"Wait wait wait," he said out loud, as his eyes snapped opened. "If we won't be making chocolates, then... What's she going to do with me in her flat?"

The thought about all possible things they could do there… together and alone… started taking root in his mind. Adding to the fray, the previous fantasies about those bunny lips of hers hadn't disappeared yet. Or cooled in the slightest. And when all the tension started causing even more strange things to happen to his body, the next message came in.

**Judy:**  "Pick the movie!:)"

"Ah, so that's a mooovie niiight!" Nick exclaimed, stretching the words as if for his body to get the message and calm down. "And I need to pick a movie..."

And that task, despite appearances, wasn't easy. Remnants of Nick's consciousness were trying to stay focused and think up something proper.

" _Horror movie?"_  he thought _. "Hmm, having that poor, scared bunny curled around me sounds really great. I can be the big brave todd protecting the fear stricken little doe. But… well, what if it would be me who got scared...? Which is of course impossible, I'm a cop and all, I'm never scared! Surprised, that's the better word, surely I'm not a guy who could ever be scared... But… Let's think about something else._

_Romantic comedy? Yeah, the message couldn't be more clearer. I can already see her looking at me knowingly, like, 'You really think I wouldn't guess your plan?' Yeah, that's got to go. Think, Nick, think! What would a great bunny like her be… Waitwaitwait!"_

Suddenly, a revelation dawned on him.

"She called me Pawdawan." Nick said aloud to himself, his smile widening at the memory as the idea brightened up his mind. "That means she likes 'Fur Wars'." Nick couldn't stop his tail from wagging while the happy thought settled in his mind. "Oh my God, yes! She likes 'Fur Wars' just like me! Isn't it like hitting the jackpot?!"

The todd felt unrestrained happiness for things turning out like that. The ideal plan forming in the fox's head.

_"Good thing I was able to listen to what she was saying, besides drooling over her like an idiot. I'm gonna surprise her with the movie she likes. Dear Jesus, I'm a freakin' genius!"_

With his heart singing, Nick started tapping the answer.

**Nick:**  "I may have something in mind…"

Then he paused, thinking about last night, when their dinner was only cookies. And as much as he liked cookies, they weren't really dinner. Nor were they filling. Plus, bringing food would surely impress her. Who wouldn't love being surprised with food? But what would he bring? What do bunnies eat (besides carrots)?

Probably the best way to answer that would have been just to ask her. But since the fox didn't want to look like total dimwit (which he totally felt at that moment), he decided to use his police abilities in interrogating and make her say it herself. So he tried to write a proper-sounding sentence, which would let Judy decide what should they eat tonight.

His fingers moved across the keyboard.

**Nick:**  "Should I HOPPS to the shop for something to snack on?"

" _Ok, puns with her surname aren't really charming",_  Nick thought, quickly erasing the message and trying to think up something smarter than that.

He tried again:

"What should I buy you for dinner, besides carrots, Carrots?"

"Ugh, it's even worse!" Nick shouted in desperation, pulling his ear with his one free paw. Erase.

Another try:

"Should I buy you something to eat for tonight, or will I be enough? ;)"

"Oh dear God, that's definitely the worst thing I could write!" Nick whispered, woeful. Then he quickly clicked to erase the message… again.

But this time, because his mind was too tired to work properly, he clicked "send" instead of "erase". And while his brain was registering what he has just done, his eyes were becoming wider and wider in horror.

"No..." Nick whispered, as his words could somehow change the dreadful reality. Then his voice began to raise higher and higher. "No, no, nononono no! GOD, NOOO!"

And when the happy, little green letters showed him the word "sent", Nick had only one thought in his head.

_"Oh, so that's what a cardiac arrest feels like..."_

He quickly throw his phone on the bed, and put a pillow on it. Then another, followed by the blanket and the quilt. Nick's mind was wondering in horror if that could make the phone disappear for real. Or at least mask the most embarrassing message he could ever think up. Then he sat at the top of that bedsheet-hill he had just made and started clutching his naked chest in almost painful way, breathing quickly in panic. After a while, the todd started massaging his temples, trying to calm himself and making plans on how to move on from this moment.

" _Bogo will be in his office in a few hours, I think I can talk with him then.",_  he thought, nodding his head. The fox slide onto the floor and stood up abruptly as he began pacing around the room again _. "He'll probably agree to transfer me to another city. It's not like I'm some kind of big hero cop, who couldn't leave anytime he want. So it shouldn't be a problem. Okay. The flat?"_  He stopped to look around, sadly _. "Damn, I really liked this place. But selling that shouldn't be a problem, either. And I'll get money to buy a new one, far away from here. And my mother? She lives here…"_  Nick sighed deeply, heading to find his suitcases in the closet.  _"Maybe she'll agree to move with me? Well, she loves Zootopia, but maybe..."_

And before Nick's opened the first suitcase to start packing up, his phone buzzed from all the covers he was under, causing the fox to jump almost to the ceiling.

He looked in direction of the bedsheet-hill, realizing that his blanket mound (unfortunately) didn't cause the phone to disappear. His eyes were wide with panic, and he didn't know what to do. For a few rapid heartbeats, he simply stood in place and looked from the bed to the closet, and back. Then again to his suitcase.

_"The sooner I pack my stuff, the better.",_  he decided, taking one shirt after another and throwing them into the suitcase. But he paused as he reached for another. His favorite shirt hung in front of him, faded black with yellow "Fur Wars" logo on it. A small sting of pain had the todd blinking and pulling it from its hanger before looking back towards bedsheet-hill's direction. "She likes 'Fur Wars'..." he whispered sadly, and then looked back at the shirt in his paws. "And she likes me, too..." His eyes went back to the bed and his phone hidden on it. And while his brain was wondering what to do now, his heart already knew it. She was too precious to just let go and just runaway. "…Hopefully enough, to forgive me that stupid text..." Nick sighed, then put his favorite shirt back on its hanger and gathered his nerve. After steeling himself, he decided to check her reply, whatever it was.

He crawled on the bed, and then slowly dug out his phone from its hiding place. With his paw shaking, he slid his finger to unlock the device and bunny's message appeared on the screen.

**Judy:**  "Naaah Nick, I like you too much to eat you! :D But you can buy me some beet salad if you want. See you soon:)"

And in that moment, all of Nick's neighbors most likely heard the rock falling from the pit of his stomach, followed by an impressively loud:

"YYYYAAAAASSSS!"

/

The rest of Nick's day, from the very early morning to the evening, was like a broken record. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for his sleep to come. But instead of dreaming, he daydreamed about a certain bunny. Every once in a while, Nick got up to drink some juice or tea, or eat something before crawling back to bed, hoping for even a minute of rest. But his mind was restless, thoughts about Judy making his heart rate faster than a good jog. So he just lay awake.

Around noon, he decided to take a shower, but that was the only lapse in his "I-am-trying-to-sleep-and-not-fantasize" routine. And when finally, finally his body decided to accept a little nap, his phone went off, the alarm set at hour and a half before meeting beeping.

Suddenly he was wide awake. Bouncing out of bed, he lunged for his closet, getting the "Fur Wars" shirt he loved so much, hoping that she would like it, too. Besides, if he needed a lucky charm, he couldn't get do better.

Matching it with jeans, he was almost ready to leave. Almost. Since his appearance after sleepless night was quite messy, he had to spend some time brushing his fur and teeth (and, because of his sleep deprivation, he did both things with the same brush). When he was finally happy with what he saw in the mirror, he left the bathroom and grabbed the DVDs he set aside during one of his "get up" sessions.

Phone, keys, wallet, and one very excited fox later, he was walking (more like trying not to run) to Judy's apartment. Using his free paw, Nick scrolled through Zoogle's results about "best beets salads in Zootopia", trying to find the best place to buy the dish for Judy. He spotted the place ranked at 4.9 stars (and the only bad opinions were about horrible prices, but he didn't really care) and he knew he couldn't go anywhere else. Though, after paying nearly fifty dollars for two salads, he really hoped they were worth it.

/

Five to seven P.M., Nick got to Judy's apartments building. Saying he was nervous would be an understatement. He was stressed as hell. And excited at the same time.

And sleepy, but the adrenaline was doing a great job keeping that at bay.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before smoothing the fur on his head and ears. And, with his paw shaking, Nick pressed the button on the intercom to get into the building.

It didn't work.

And, what was more, the button he pressed fell off right after he withdraw his finger. A quiet, metallic noise reached his ears when it met the floor. Nick's eyes followed its path and widened in panic at the view as his ears lied flat on his head. He quickly looked around to check if anyone had seen him, before he grabbed the button and put it back in its place. If he was lucky, no-one ever know about it. Maybe the mammal after him will care about it more.

Fortunately, the doors opened as two oryxes were leaving the building, and Nick quickly slipped in right after they left. Entering the familiar, dingy hall, the fox felt a sense of dejá vu. He remembered where to go. In his excitement, he took the stairs two at a time, quickly reaching Judy's floor. Before he could register the trip, he had found her door.

So standing in front of the entrance to his own paradise, he took a really, really deep breath and knocked.


End file.
